A Dagger To The Throat Of The World
by Ny Batteri
Summary: In which a gardener, spurred on by a riddle posed in a book he once read and the discovery of a corrupted Wayshrine, sets off on a long and complex journey which causes him to question everything from magic to politics to faith to the nature of mankind and brings him face to face with the end of the world.
1. Prologue

_In the deepest depths of a cave in Vvardenfell, the two adventurers stood before a crude doorway carved into a rock, flanked with ornately decorated, cubist masonry – a telltale sign of Daedric architecture._

_It had taken them three days to get this far into the cave. One entire day had been spent helping the third member of their party out of the cave and to a healer in Vos after he had fallen down a ravine obscured by shadows._

"_By the Gods, we've found it…" one of the adventurers said reverently. Beyond the doorway was a huge natural cavern, lit as bright as day by a dazzling, Sun-like light radiating from a similar doorway at the far end of the cavern._

_The pair heard a noise behind them. They turned around to see two Imperials in white robes, crossbows levelled at their heads. It was the last thing the two adventurers ever saw – their bodies were never found._

* * *

In the early years of the Fourth Era, a little-known Dunmer author and wizard known as Sevri Gimothran published a short book called 'The Mysteries Of Tamriel'. It was simply a list posing questions which nobody has ever arrived at a satisfactory answer to. For a reason I cannot explain, two of these stood out to me.

The second line on page 3 of the book reads, "Where did magicka originate from?"

Halfway down page 5, a question is posed, "Why are Wayshrines found only in Cyrodiil when the Nine Divines are worshipped all across Tamriel?"

That night, I had a dream. I saw nothing but blackness but I knew I was dreaming. I was seeing the end of all time, the complete destruction of reality itself. I knew somehow that it was linked to what I had read in Gimothran's book earlier.

The next day I set out on a journey to find answers. I am not a wise man, nor a rich man. I'm a gardener, and a man of simple life and pleasures. My name is Erris Spires, and this is the tale of how I discovered the dagger being held to the throat of the world.


	2. Today's Lesson

"Magicka is, in essence, manipulation of a spiritual bond between body and earth, or more specifically, body and the Earth Bones – the laws and forces that shape our world and how it and everything in it behaves. It has always been thought that a spiritual connection, but also a physical connection, must be made between the two. Think of the act of casting a spell as a lightning bolt cracking in a storm. The lightning ruptures from the storm cloud, hits the ground and dissipates, but displays tremendous power in the process.  
"Often, the question has been posed as to why spells cast by mages levitating or in a slowfall-controlled freefall are so much less effective. Try it – Milie, try jumping up in the air whilst you cast a spell"  
A few seconds later I heard a dull whoosh, a failed spellcast.  
I loved listening to the lectures in the Arcane University's courtyard as I toiled at their lands. The heads there may have been unpicking and exploiting the fabric of reality but none of them had ever done a damn day's work in their lives. That's why I was there with my spade, digging a pretty little flowerbed to go outside the Praxographical Centre. I couldn't help but overhearing the lecturer, since the bastard spent the entire day shouting 20 yards away from me, and I didn't understand a bloody thing he was on about. You could consider me a nihilist but I've never been overly interested in magic – until now. But something the old Altmer said struck a chord, because it made sense. Lightning has to be earthed before it can strike. Lightning can be cast as a spell, so why not everything else? Why should every other spell not need earthing?  
The lecture wound up and all the students in their green robes started filing past me. They must have been boiling. It was mid-summer and far from the coldest day on record. It made me realise what a state I was getting in – I threw down my spade and took a few long gulps of water from my canteen.  
"Thirsty work?" a Breton girl asked as she walked past me.  
"You said it" I replied, taking another gulp. "That was quite an interesting lecture you were having there. I couldn't help but listen"  
"Yeah, it's what I'm writing my dissertation about" the girl replied. "Mages are so obsessed with shaping magicka, they don't realise where it comes from in the first place"  
"And where does it come from?" I asked, preparing myself for a long answer.  
"It's everywhere, really, just an ambient force. It permeates through the ground until a conduit – a spellcaster – pulls it up and shapes it into a spell. It lingers in the air, eventually making its way back into the earth"  
"So it is like lightining in a storm, just like your man said"  
"Exactly! And people work like lightning conductors, absorbing magicka out of the air and storing it, ready to shape it into spells. It must all be down there somewhere, a vast well of magicka, like the lava chamber under a volcano"  
"Erris Spires" I said, holding out my hand for the girl to shake. "It's been fascinating to meet you"  
"Milie Lafontaine" the girl replied – I guessed by her name that she was Breton. That, and the pale complexion and posh accent. "A pleasure"  
Milie then left, telling me she had to go and study. I watched her walk towards the practice rooms – she was best described as boringly pretty. Average, but in a good way. My friends always asked me why I was never fighting off the girls – apparently I'm quite handsome. I suppose I try to look quite rakish, with an unkempt head of short hair and a stubbly beard, but the reality is I just could never be arsed to shave or cut my hair very often.  
I took off the leather waistcoat I was wearing over my grubby white shirt and threw it to the ground, and got back to work.  
"Ah, is the navvy getting hot?" a young Altmer smirked as he walked past with one of his friends.  
"Fuck off and cast some fireworks" is what he got in response. I would much rather have bashed his head in with my spade.  
I spent the rest of the day shovelling soil, planting seedlings and sprinkling shit over them to make them grow faster.

Ancius Carro was my best friend, and quite a character. He said he had two passions in life – hunting and playing his musical instrument, which he would kill you if you said were an accordion. He says he plays the melodeon, which differs from the accordion in that it has buttons rather than keys and is restricted to the keys of G and D. I play the fiddle a bit, and I have no idea what he's on about. Anyway, he won't admit it but he has two other passions in life – drinking and swearing.  
Like on almost every night, we would both meet in the Merchants' Inn in the Market District after we had finished work for the day, after I had taken my handful of gold for digging holes and he had decided he'd killed enough deer for one day.  
As was often the case, I arrived before Ancius. He didn't keep me waiting though, to give him credit. I'd just sat down at an empty table with two tankards of ale when he walked into the inn, cast his bow and quiver down on the table and collapsed into the chair.  
"Tough day?" I asked.  
"Yeah. Spotted some real healthy-looking deer out in the Imperial Reserve. I was on their tail for ages – got attacked by a brace of wolves but fought the fuckers off. I caught the deer up again in the West Weald, killed the two biggest ones. I cooked up a bit of the meat before I sold the rest – fuckin' beautiful, I tell you"  
"You didn't save me any then?"  
"I didn't think I'd need to. I imagined you'd be feasting all day – feasting your eyes on them pretty mage girls. What was today's lesson about then?"  
I told Ancius about what the lecturer, and later what Milie had said, about magicka being an ambient energy imbued in the ground.  
"I've always wondered how it can flicker in and out of existence just like that," Ancius said. "You cast a healing spell, you feel better, but where does the lightshow end up?"  
"Back in the air, or back in the ground, by the sounds of it" I replied.  
"I've got something to show you tomorrow, if you fancy it" Ancius said, lowering his voice slightly. "Just east of Skingrad"  
"That's only a couple of hours' walk away – why wait until tomorrow?"  
Ancius sank the rest of the ale in his tankard, and I did the same. "Next round's at the West Weald, then"

Evening had turned to twilight by the time we reached the area of the West Weald that Ancius had told me about. We had taken our musical instruments with us – mainly just to pass the time when we rested. Ancius wore his melodeon in a leather satchel over his shoulder, making sure he could grab his bow and reach for his quiver easily if we were attacked, which we were, only once by a wolf, which my sharp-shooting friend dealt with before it got close enough to pose a threat.  
The two of us could communicate through music as well as we could through conversation. We sat down in a clearing, made a small campfire and began to play, just simple traditional reels. We often busked in the street together, earning extra money on the side – if Ancius had a bad day's hunting, it was his livelihood, much moreso if an innkeeper would pay us a handful of coins to stand in one corner of his tavern and play throughout the evening.  
Words came into my head as I began to sing them.

_"As the day turned to night_  
_We set to the West Weald_  
_Just to see what we could find_  
_What myst'ries it would yield"_


	3. The Well

"Told you you couldn't miss it" Ancius said as we stepped over the top of a ridge. In the darkness, in the valley below, buried amongst the rocks and the trees, we could see a bright light – not a torch, nor the pale blue hue of one cast by a spell, for it was light of the purest white.  
"I saw it earlier. I was on the trail of something so I didn't go down to have a look, but I knew the fucker would stick out like a sore thumb at night"  
"Shall we go and have a look?" I ventured.  
"Yeah. I'll keep watch. Whatever that is, it's got Daedra written all over it"  
I began to climb down the steep gully, using tree roots and rocks as handholds, with Ancius following behind me, stopping wherever he could to glance around, watching for anything that could be dangerous – he always kept one hand on, or at least near his bow ready to draw it.  
By the time we got into the vale, the source of the light was almost completely obscured, hidden behind the trees and thick undergrowth. We fought our way through the thicket, Ancius using his long-bladed hunters' knife to cut through the bushes and briars that blocked our way, until the light began to shine in a very pronounced way through the undergrowth – whatever it was, we had found it.  
The source of the light turned out to be in a clearing, albeit quite a small one no more than eight yards across. It must be said that it took us some time to work out what the object in the centre of the clearing was.  
"It's an Oblivion gate," I guessed after a few seconds. "Or at least, it was one"  
"It's what the gate appeared on top of that's more interesting" Ancius replied. He was right – a huge grotesque spike the colour of ash, tipped with a lurid orange, was protruding from the ground, where a circle of upturned earth almost completely hid a stone structure – a squat circular platform of some sort.  
"A Wayshrine," I said. "Again, at least it used to be a Wayshrine"  
It was then that we realised that the light was glowing straight out of the Wayshrine, radiating from within it. Nervously, we stepped closer to investigate.  
"Careful" Ancius warned as I stepped closer to the Wayshrine. The magical light now was so bright that I had to shield my eyes.  
"Bloody hell… do you feel that?" I said suddenly, holding my hands to the sky as a fireball leapt from them.  
"Never knew you could do that" Ancius remarked.  
"Neither did I," I agreed.  
I reached the stone platform, Ancius only a few paces behind me, and bent down to examine it closer. I didn't dare put my hands on it, but I could see that there was a wide crack a few inches across in the top of the Wayshrine, the stone rent apart where the Oblivion gate had materialised on top of it, and it was from this crack that the light was shining.  
"What the hell's underneath this thing?" I asked. "That's where the light's coming from"  
"Fucked if I know" Ancius replied, now standing next to me. "Maybe we should go and tell the folks at Skingrad Mages' Guild. Or you could tell all your girlfriends in the Arcane University tomorrow. At the very least, they'll pay us good money if it turns out to be some important discovery"  
"I never thought much about these Wayshrines…" I stuttered. "But that's not natural… it's divine…"  
"Shut up. You hear that?" Ancius whispered loudly. I strained my ears and heard something rustling in the bushes to the north, coming towards the Wayshrine from the main road, down the valley wall like we had.  
"Deer?"  
"No, it sounds bigger than that. I don't want to hang around to find what it is. Come on. East, along the valley. Comes out near Pell's Gate"  
Leaving the mysterious glowing Wayshrine, its secrets blasted out into the open by an Oblivion gate of all things, we ran back into the undergrowth, eventually managing to lose whatever – or whoever – was moving towards the clearing.

* * *

The next day was more or less the same. I spent all day digging, listening to the lecturer talking in the background. It was another quite interesting one, about the legitimacy of Alteration as a school of magic. The lecturer proposed that almost all Alteration spells are simply adaptations of other schools – the example he cited was an unlocking spell, which physically moves the tumblers inside a lock using the same principle as telekinesis. The blonde Breton from the previous day's lecture wasn't there, which was quite disappointing for some reason – I had a strange urge to see her again.  
Five o'clock came and went and I downed tools. I just left everything where I was working – I doubted that any mage would want to steal a gardening fork or a spade, and the University was guarded against thieves around the clock.  
I began to follow the crowd out of the University, the mages who lived off-campus around the Imperial City, mostly scholars. I made my way towards the bridge that led across to the Arboretum, set on a more-or-less straight bearing to the Merchants' Inn for my usual pint with Ancius.  
"Excuse me, Sir," a voice from behind me said. I turned around to see a respectable-looking Imperial gentleman, probably around fifty, wearing a white robe.  
"Yes? Can I help you?" I asked.  
"I do hope so. You're the gardener, aren't you?"  
I nodded, wondering where he was going.  
"I expect you hear all of the lectures, don't you?"  
"I do, yes. It's background noise, but it's surprising how much of it goes in"  
"I'd like to ask you about where magicka comes from"  
"That was yesterday's lecture. It went over my head a bit, but I'm sure that if you spoke to Magister Althren he would gladly…"  
"No, you misunderstand me, Erris Spires. I want to know what you know about it"  
My heart skipped a beat. "How do you know my name?"  
It was at that moment when I noticed the flicker of light in his right hand. I leapt backwards, falling clumsily to the floor as the man's summoned Daedric mace swung over my head.  
"Help!" I cried. I glanced around – there was a Battlemage guard on duty, but he was too far away, drawing his sword and racing over to my aid. The white-robed Imperial stood above me as I tried to scrabble to my feet, swinging his mace down two-handed. I desperately rolled to one side as his mace crashed into the stony ground – the Imperial's whole body shuddered with the recoil, giving me chance to jump to my feet and run as fast as I could to the bridge, which passed underneath the guardhouse. Then, I heard a dull thwack behind me.  
I turned around. The Imperial was lying on his back, blood pouring out of his throat, an arrow jutting from the wound. A guard up on the battlements of the University building had drawn his bow and taken down my attacker. It was a bloody good shot, I had to admit.  
"Are you alright, Sir?" the Battlemage asked, reaching me. I took a few deep breaths.  
"I think so…" I replied, still not quite sure what had just occurred, and why. A group of mage students and scholars began to gather around the body. I listened to their conversations.  
"The only group I know of who wear robes like that is the Moth Priests"  
"No, they're a peaceful faction and never leave their monastery…"  
An elderly Breton who I knew to be an expert on symbolism piped up.  
"In my experience, white robes are usually associated with religious groups"  
Then, the Breton turned to me. "But why you? No disrespect, but you are not a mage or a scholar"  
"I know, but he was asking me about one of the lectures yesterday…" As I trailed off, my mind went into overdrive. The lecture. The conversation with the Breton girl. Me and Ancius' trip to the West Weald. The glowing shrine. The unknown assailant in the undergrowth that we fled from.  
"It's the second time he's tried to attack me. That means… Ancius…"  
With that, I left a lot of very confused mages and guards behind me and fled towards the Market District.

* * *

I threw open the door into the Merchants' Inn and saw Ancius sitting at our usual table in the far corner. He smiled when he saw me, holding up two full tankards of ale, his melodeon resting on the table. I strode over to him.  
"Ancius, we have to get out of the City or we're going to die," I whispered as I sat down. I grabbed one of the tankards and swallowed four large gulps of its contents – I knew he wouldn't leave until we finished our drinks.  
"Why? What are you talking about?" Ancius asked, slightly indignantly.  
"Trust me. I'll tell you later. I don't know who's listening, but… remember the thing we ran away from at the shrine last night?"  
"Yes…"  
I nodded knowingly. "Come on!"  
Ancius swallowed a mouthful of ale. "I'm sure it can wait a few minutes. I've been itching all day to get a bloody beer, I'm not going to waste it"  
I pulled Ancius' tankard out of his hands and downed the contents, loudly expelling a breath when I finished, then threw the tankard down onto the table. "We're leaving now, or we get killed. I don't really want that to happen"  
"Fuck's sake… Fine then" Ancius sighed, getting to his feet. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the door of the Merchants' Inn. We were starting to cause a commotion – it wasn't good. If anyone was trying to follow us we hadn't exactly managed to remain inconspicuous.  
"Oi! Don't throw my good tankards around like that!" I heard the innkeeper shouting. I wasn't really listening. Someone else had drawn my attention as I walked past them.  
"You, come with us too!"  
"What? Who… You're the gardener, aren't…"  
"Yes I am, and that seems to have got me into a spot of trouble. And it might extend to you as well, so you might want to come with me and listen to what I have to say?"  
The blonde Breton girl didn't look convinced. But, by pure chance, two mage apprentices in the green Arcane University robes then stepped into the inn, chatting.  
"You heard? Some nutter in a white robe tried to kill the gardener"  
"I know. Some religious fundamentalist, they're saying"  
"I heard it was something to do with the lecture on magicka yesterday. You think the rest of us are safe?"  
I locked eyes with Milie Lafontaine.  
"Alright, I'll come with you" she said nervously.


	4. Rigs Of The Time

The three of us stood on the bridge that linked the Market District to the squat fortress that formed the Imperial Prison. There were guards at each end of the bridge, manning the gates that led into the respective districts, but they were out of earshot.  
The first thing I had done was told Milie Lafontaine what myself and Ancius had found at the Wayshrine in the West Weald.  
"And you say you cast a fireball, almost subconsciously, having never managed to do so in your life before?" Milie asked.  
"That's right" I replied.  
Milie paused for a few seconds. "Can you take me there? I have to see this!"  
"Not safe" Ancius piped up. "Something, someone, was guarding that shrine last night. Even if it was the man who tried to kill Erris, there might be someone else there tonight"  
"But we can do the next best thing," I said. "I want to try something. I want to see if all the Wayshrines are like that underneath"  
"Fancy a walk, then?" Ancius asked. "'Cos we need to find a Wayshrine off the beaten track if you want to do that. Any old fucker could wander down one of the main roads and come across us"  
"Where do you suggest, then?" Milie asked, clearly already slightly shocked by Ancius' yobbish personality.  
"There's a shrine to Tiber Septim on the banks of the Niben, just south of Lake Rumare" Ancius replied. "Might as well be in the arse end of nowhere – there's no other reason to go round there"

* * *

We hung around in the Market District before it started to get dark – we figured the more members of the public we were surrounded by, the safer we'd be. When it got to about 7:45, just before all the shops started to shut, we approached a smithy who sold a fairly useless selection of weapons from a little stand in one of the Market District's two squares. Ancius and I scraped together seventy drakes to buy an iron warhammer – we paid sixty-nine more than it was worth. I carried the weapon, used to lugging heavy tools around all day, and I had to put my fur gloves back on to stop the piece of shit's wooden handle from splintering my hand to shreds. I at least hoped that walking around carrying twenty pounds of iron would deter any would-be attackers.  
By the time eight o'clock came, the Market District was starting to empty. Ancius announced he was going to get us something 'for the journey' and stepped back into the Merchants' Inn, emerging a minute later with two bottles of wine and what looked to be another wine bottle filled with ale.  
"Beer for me, fruit-based drink for the ladies" Ancius smirked, distributing the booze. "Come on, let's go and find this shrine"

The Gods weren't smiling on us that night. Maybe they knew what we were about to do. The thickest, pea-soupiest of fogs had settled, and a soft, fine drizzle fell relentlessly. How we had any idea how we would get to the Wayshrine I was not sure, but Ancius hit upon the idea of following the shore of the Niben, something we could identify by sound, and slightly by sight despite the horrendous visibility.  
After a few hours of struggling we could go no further and had to stop to rest. Ancius swigged his ale as I began playing my fiddle, which I had brought with me – no musician likes to be separated from his instrument. I started playing a gentle, haunting reel which a Nord piper in Bruma had once taught me – I could think of nothing better to suit the atmosphere, the strains of my violin echoing ghost-like around the shallow Niben valley.  
"Come on, Erris" Ancius said eventually. "Stop playing mood music and get up. We're nearly there"  
We continued stumbling blindly along the uneven riverbank which somehow managed simultaneously to be rocky and muddy. Even Milie, who seemed to be quite good-natured, swore like a docker the third time she slipped and her leg plunged into the stagnating shore-waters.  
Soon, though, it felt like a weight was lifted from our shoulders. We saw the lights of Bravil piercing through the fog, which also meant we were nearly at the Wayshrine, according to Ancius.

* * *

"This is your hidden shrine?" Milie asked incredulously as we reached the Wayshrine. Ancius, showing no respect for the Gods whatsoever, sat down on it and began to dig into the wine that I hadn't drunk.  
"Yeah, what's wrong with it? We're fuckin' miles away from the road"  
"For those of us not completely ignorant of Tamriel's quite recent past," I began, "This shrine is steeped in religious lore. This is the shrine where the hero believed to be the re-incarnation of Pelinal Whitestrake met Sir Roderic, the knight who would fail in his task but eventually lead the hero to the Sword of the Crusader, defeating the undead heretic Lord Vlindrel in the process"  
"And now we're about to smash it up with a hammer" Milie said, a vague hint of disbelief in her voice.

* * *

The Nine serve and protect us. That is what is said. I suppose there is too much unexplained in our world that there cannot be some divine presence, whether the nature of that is Anuic or Padomaic. Certainly, we have seen the Daedra do terrible things in our time – Mehrunes Dagon and his plot to destroy Tamriel, which, even though it failed, ended the Septim dynasty. Sheogorath and his constant turning of innocent people to madness, not to mention his attempted destruction of Vivec City. And yet, Azura cursed the Dunmer to their bleak existence for war crimes. But, were they the good guys? Would Indoril Nerevar have simply become a despot, much like Voryn Dagoth?  
What we do know, though, is that the Daedra have no qualms with materialising in such extravagant nature in our world. Bar the odd reported sighting of human avatars portraying the Divines, they are rarely seen. Are they even physical beings, or just metaphysical, creations of belief and nothing more?  
Yet we have seen Akatosh materialising, or perhaps the apotheosis of Martin Septim, to vanquish Mehrunes Dagon. We have seen Anuic-Padomaic wars between Umaril the Unfeathered and the Nine, where the Gods have once again had to manipulate mortals rather than acting themselves. The nature of the Nine Divines is something I have always been unsure of, yet my agnosticism was rocked that night, when the weather conditions were surely a deterrent put in place by the Divines.

* * *

"It's alright, no-one will see us" Ancius said. "We can't even bloody see ourselves"  
Ancius raised the warhammer above his head, two-handed.  
"This is sacrilege, whichever way you look at it," I said to myself.  
"This is my life's work about to be uncovered," Milie added. "I've waited for years to see what lies under this shrine"  
We all held our breath as Ancius smashed the hammer into the circular stone at the centre of the wayshrine.  
The very earth itself seemed to shake as the hammer made contact, obliterating the stone plate. The instant it happened, there was a loud roar as impossibly bright light burst forth from the shrine, the sheer force of it knocking over nearly all the pillars that stood around the Wayshrine. I grabbed Milie by the arm and dragged her to one side as a pillar fell close to us – it would easily have crushed us both.  
Ancius dropped the hammer and looked at his hands in amazement. Tiny forks of lightning zapped between his fingers before, almost uncontrollably, he cast a colossal bolt of lightning into the remainder of the Wayshrine, kicking chunks of masonry into the air with the blast.  
The three of us backed off. The light showed no sign of receding as it lanced up into the heavens, shining up for many miles before it began to fade.  
"Magicka…" Milie said reverently.  
"Er…" Ancius stuttered, pointing towards Bravil, still slightly shaken by what had just happened to him. We could see a couple of dots of orange light as our vision returned to us, having been dazzled by the light shining from the Wayshrine.  
"Guards" I said. "I suspect we may have just broken the law…"  
"Down to the shore" Ancius suggested. "Into the shallows. They'll never track our footprints through it"  
He was right – it wasn't pleasant sloshing through the muddy shoreline waters but of course we left no footprints. By midnight, we were back in the Imperial City, our heads all still spinning.

* * *

Out of a combination of security and chivalry, Ancius and myself walked Milie back to her residence at the Arcane University. As we walked through the City, there was only one thing our conversation could turn to.  
"So what was that? What just happened?" Ancius asked.  
"As far as I can tell we uncovered something truly incredible – magicka in its pure form," Milie answered. "And since you say that you and Erris witnessed the same event at the shrine in the West Weald, I think it's something the Wayshrines have in common… I'm going to speak to one of the scholars tomorrow about this and see if we can arrange a full expedition"  
Ancius nodded. "Alright. Just keep your head down – literally. It seems like there's a few mad fundamentalists who don't take too kindly to people smashing the shit out of their Wayshrines"  
"But we didn't touch the first one…" I said to myself.


	5. Light Of The Morning

The next couple of days passed without much incident for me and Ancius, but I expect Milie was fighting her way through Arcane University red tape. She had very kindly asked us to accompany her on any sort of research expedition she might be able to set up, although I suppose we had made the discoveries in the first place.  
We had arranged to meet one Friday lunchtime in the Arcane University grounds. I had finished the gardening job that morning so I retired to the public level of the Battlemages' watch tower, the closest thing the University had to a bar. Ancius was an hour late, for reasons he didn't make clear to me, but I suspect it involved drink.  
Milie eventually appeared from the Council Tower where her meeting with the administrator, Raminus Polus, had been taking place. She was flanked by two spellswords, one Dunmer and one Imperial.  
The Dunmer was Galvel Othrelos, a reserved man but clearly a talented warrior. When I enquired as to why he wasn't carrying a sword, in a flash of light he summoned one out of thin air. "No point carrying unnecessary weight around, is there?"  
The Imperial was a slightly surly, gaunt fellow who bore more resemblance to Ancius than anyone else I had ever met in my life. His name was Callius Artorra, but everyone seemed to call him Ratty – it wasn't hard to see why.  
"We have an official task," Milie announced. "Well, as official as the Arcane University can make a task anyway. We are to deduce the exact nature of this ambient magicka underneath the Wayshrines and the relationship between the two. Anyone got any ideas to get us started?"  
I immediately guessed – rightly – that Galvel and Ratty had been briefed on what had occurred in the last week or so.  
"Perhaps it is the divine nature of the Wayshrines that causes magicka to well under them," Ratty suggested.  
"To me it sounds like the magicka is imbued into the ground itself" Galvel added. "If there was a physical space under the Wayshrines where magicka was pooling, they'd fall into the ground"  
Myself and Ancius tried to hang on to what the three mages were saying – most of it was going straight over our heads.  
"What about Ayleid wells too?" Ratty said. "You touch one of them, you learn the meaning of ambient bloody magicka"  
"We should investigate Ayleid wells too, then" Milie said. "I know of a mine which subsided near an Ayleid ruin, and the workings of one of the wells are actually visible – it's quite difficult to get to, though"  
"In that case, there's Bramblepoint Cave near Bravil too" Galvel said. "The only place anyone knows of where Welkynd glass can be observed growing in the wild, outside of an Ayleid ruin"  
At this point, we were joined by another person who seemed to be there to join our expedition – the Altmer, Magister Althren, whose lecture had been almost at the very start of this endless and complex trail.  
He was a very tall and dignified-looking man, with a mane of black hair cascading down the back of his head. Beneath his blue robe I could see an egg-shaped amulet made from a black stone - obsidian or ebony, by the looks of it.  
"Forgive me for interrupting you," Althren said in the same booming voice that he delivered his lectures in, "But Raminus Polus believes I should join your expedition – the mechanics of spellcasting is my specialisation, after all. I have been briefed on the expedition so far"  
Althren glanced around the room condescendingly. "Galvel Othrelos and Callius Artorra, better known as Ratty. Battlemages who have frequently accompanied other expeditions. Milie Lafontaine, a student studying ambient magicka for her dissertation. But who might you two be? The gardener, and the lout he is often seen socialising with? What, might I ask, are you two doing on this expedition?"  
"Fuck you" Ancius said under his breath.  
"They were with me at the Wayshrine near Bravil" Milie explained. "They saw the magicka too"  
"And Ancius discovered another Wayshrine, ripped apart by an Oblivion gate, where the same phenomenon can be observed" I added.  
"But that does not explain why you are here" Althren retorted.  
"Well, I suppose… I suppose I just want to know the answer to the question – where does magicka come from?"  
Althren's frown spread into a wide smile. "You have a very inquisitive mind. You would make a very good scholar, Erris Spires. Now, have we made any progress so far?"  
"We were discussing the natural Welkynd glass found growing in Bramblepoint Cave" Milie said. "Since Welkynd glass seems to only grow in magicka-rich conditions…"  
"You're right" Althren said. "The presence of such crystals outside Ayleid ruins, outside the influence of the Ayleid technology that seems to be able to cultivate Welkynd glass, would imply that it is permeating through the ground from some buried energy source"  
"Or it is the source itself that permeates to the surface" Galvel Othrelos said. "I mean – why does Welkynd glass glow? It could be the magicka trapped in the glass, or the glass could just be focusing light coming from underground, like a lens…"  
As the other four chatted away, Ancius tapped me on the shoulder. "Fancy a pint?"  
The others all glanced at us.  
"Why don't we go to Bramblepoint Cave?" I said to break the silence. "To me, it makes sense to check out the exceptions to the rule – the ambient magicka that doesn't come from beneath a Wayshrine. Then we know what we're up against"  
"I like the way this man thinks!" Magister Althren said. "It will be over a day's work to get there and investigate the cave, but we can stay in the Imperial Bridge Inn while we work. You can stay in there and drink if it suits you more, Mr Carro"  
Ancius shrugged. "Nice to know the option's there"

* * *

_Bramblepoint Cave, on the eastern shore of the Niben near Bravil_

Our journey through Bramblepoint Cave was uneventful. The cave system was huge – it just seemed to keep going. Galvel, Ratty, Milie and Althren spoke constantly all the way. It was like listening to the inner monologue of four minds working as one, and I didn't really understand what they were talking about.  
A few imps impeded our progress but between Ratty's spellcasting skills and Ancius' use of a bow, we got past them easily. Only once did a fireball pass perilously close to us, singing a small patch of Althren's robe.  
"Shit, I paid good money for this thing!" Althren cursed.  
"Don't wear it on an expedition, then" Ratty replied callously, tugging at his tatty fur coat that he was wearing. By the looks of it, it had survived quite a few encounters similar to the one Althren had just experienced. For my part, I was still dressed from work – breeches and a cotton shirt covered in muddy patches and my workgloves. Ancius wore a huntsmans' vest and trousers, fur boots and leather overcoat, seemingly the only items of clothing he owned.  
At one stage a wolf leapt out of a shadowy recess at Milie, teeth bared, but Ratty was quick off the draw and took it down with an expertly-aimed bolt of lightning. Ancius examined the wolf's singed corpse.  
"I could have sold that pelt before you barbecued it" he said under his breath.

* * *

It was obvious when we reached the lowest point of the cave, the point we were aiming for. At the far end of a huge, dark cavern was a brilliant ultramarine glow coming from an array of crystals sprouting out of the rock.  
"Natural Welkynd glass" Galvel said. "Well, I'll be damned…"  
Unable to contain her excitement, Milie raced towards the crystals, most of the others following her, but I stayed where I was. Ancius noticed this and stopped, taking a step back towards me. I was gazing at the wall, torch in my hand.  
"Someone else has been here before" I said. "They've been working on the same thing as us. Look at all this"  
Written on the wall in chalk was a dazzling array of notes, maps and diagrams. Some of it made sense to me after hearing the mages' conversations earlier in the day.

_Cave must be sitting on a reserve of magicka._  
_But how does magicka become matter? How do the crystals grow?_

Two arrows came from this carving. One led to a large block of text concerning the conversion of magicka to solid crystal, the other read:

_How large is the reserve_?

Other carvings were much more esoteric:

_I have a key. But what is it a key for?_

_To interfere with this delicate system is to hold a dagger to the throat of the world._

_In the deepest depths_  
_Of the deepest canyon_  
_Of the deepest cave_  
_Where Daedra roam_  
_In the plains of the northern isle_  
_Of the Dark Province_  
_It is here where one will find World's End_

Others just baffled me:

_Consult Molag Bal's daughter_

_Appearance of Sheogorath's Island – huge exploitation of natural magicka?_

_Everything I have written may not be true_

"Madman" Ancius said, reading the last line. "Reasurring, isn't it?"  
Ratty, who was clearly not as interested in the crystal growths as the other three, had joined us, and was copying everything written on the wall into a small leather-bound notebook.  
"I wanna know where that cave is," Ratty said. "It is here where one will find World's End…"  
Althren also walked over and began examining the carvings, leaving Milie and Galvel to examine the crystals, or more particularly, where they were growing from.  
Suddenly, a loud, woody bang echoed through the cave.  
"The door…" Ancius said to himself. "Someone else has followed us in…"  
"Did we even close it when we came in?" I asked. "Could have just been the wind"  
"No, listen to that…" Ratty said. We all strained and heard echoing, filed bootfalls echoing through the many tunnels of Bramblepoint Cave.  
"Blast!" Althren whispered loudly. "We have to get out of here, now! Milie, Galvel, get out of there!"  
"Why?" I aksed.  
"Isn't it obvious? It's the same people who have attacked you twice!"  
"There's other ways out of the cave…" Ratty said softly, silencing everyone. As Milie and Galvel began running towards us, Ratty gesticulated at a cleft in the cavern wall on its western side, hidden in shadows and barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through – I presumed it somehow led to the surface.  
"We haven't got time to get to it" Althren said. "Follow me!"  
Galvel led Milie into the tiny passageway, plunging into depths unknown, whilst Althren turned and ran back the way we came.  
"There's several routes to this cavern," Althren explained as he ran. "I'm presuming that whoever's in here picked the most straightforward"  
We reached an intersection, the footfalls getting ever closer. I remembered that we had come from the left-hand tunnel that led out of the cavern we were in, but there was another tunnel to the right. It was this tunnel that Althren chose.  
"You been here before then?" Ancius asked Althren as we ran.  
"Anyone with any interest in the mechanics of magicka has been here" Althren replied. "It really is a hugely important find to those who truly understand its significance"  
"And what is its significance?"  
"It proves that there is ambient magicka underground"

* * *

We reached a grotty old ladder that barely looked like it would hold anyone's weight, especially not the armoured Ratty, leading up to a trapdoor. Ratty drew his dagger and went first, gripping the blade in his teeth as he climbed, as Ancius cautiously aimed his bow at the tradoor.

* * *

Soon, we saw the bright light of the morning shining through the flimsy wooden door that marked the entrance to Bramblepoint Cave – it had been closed again by whoever had followed us in, the mysterious group that we had somehow managed to avoid using Althren's navigation through the caves.  
"I wonder where that other tunnel comes out?" I thought out loud.  
"Milie and Galvel will be quite damp when we see them next" Althren answered. "It comes out right on the shore of the Niben, but it's tidal. Sometimes the tunnel floods to chest-height"  
We stepped out of the cave and froze.  
Seven men in white robes were all stood in a semicircle around the mouth of the cave, all aiming longbows at us. Desperately, I looked behind us – the four other attackers from the cave were behind us, having snuck up on us, also aiming bows at us. We were surrounded.


	6. Vignette

The next thing I knew, I was home. I was in my modest little house in the Imperial City, the one variously filled with gardening tools, books and other assorted junk I've acquired over the years.  
The front door was still open. It was a pleasant day outside – cloudless, warm without being overly hot, the dry air cooled by a soft breeze. A street performer had commenced picking a lute and singing ballads fifty yards away in the plaza.  
The door at the top of the staircase opened and Milie Lafontaine stepped out. Wearing a beautiful blue silk dress, she smiled warmly at me.  
"Hello, Erris" she said softly.  
I wondered what she was doing in my house, but I had a strange sensation that somehow she belonged, that we were together, in love, and that it had never been any different. I ascended the staircase and followed Milie into the bedroom.  
Milie sat down on the bed and beckoned me over. I sat down next to her as she took my hand.  
"How do you know you're dreaming, Erris?" Milie asked.  
"I…" I hesitated. She looked at me expectantly.  
"Well, I suppose you have to look for things that don't belong, things you know are impossible in the real world"  
Milie nodded.  
"You're not Milie" I said. "Who are you?"  
"It doesn't matter" Milie said, standing up and walking towards the window, continuing to speak as she walked. "And tell me, Erris, if you see something that you cannot explain, when you know you are not dreaming, what do you put it down to?"  
I stood up. "Well, magic, I suppose… some mystic playing tricks"  
"And what if there were too much magicka?" Milie asked me. "What if there were so much magic that anything could happen, that the Earth Bones would break and reality as we know it would be totally broken down?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"You know what I mean, Erris Spires" Milie said. Then, she held a lit candle before her face. "Look into my eyes"  
I did. Her eyes were bright blue, deep and watery. Then I noticed something strange – despite the candle held before her face, her pupils were fully dilated. Then, as she moved the candle away from her face, they narrowed.  
"Now do you see?" Milie said, pointing out of the window. We were looking down into the Talos Plaza, and I saw an unexpected sight. I was dreaming. The grand statue of Talos in the centre of the circular plaza had been replaced by a Wayshrine – battered by the elements and overgrown with vines, just as those in the wild are.  
Then, without warning, the Wayshrine blew apart in a blinding flash of light, hurling dust and masonry across the plaza. The light was blinding, lancing up to the heavens in a broad shaft. The earth itself was ripped apart all around the Wayshrine, huge cracks appearing in the ground. In less than a second, the sky faded from a pale blue to a dark red. Lightning blasted down from the sky…


	7. And The Glass-Handed Kites

I woke up with a start as cold water was hurled in my face. I couldn't see a thing – at first I thought I had somehow been blinded, but then I felt the strip of fabric wrapped tightly around my head. I was blindfolded. I could feel wrist-irons around my wrists clamping me to the wall – I briefly struggled but realised it was no use.  
The blindfold was suddenly ripped from me.  
An Imperial man dressed in a white robe stood before me.  
"You… You're the ones who tried to kill me!" I spluttered, still shivering from the cold water that drenched me.  
"Indeed" the Imperial replied evenly. "And now you're finally going to find out who we are. We call ourselves the Holy Crusaders. We serve the Nine Divines, and only the Nine Divines"  
"What do you want with me? Where are my friends?"  
"They're alive," the Imperial said. "Well, most of them are. That gaunt Imperial, the soldier, struggled too much, so we slit his throat"  
My heart skipped a beat. They killed Ratty.  
"And as for what I want with you," he continued, "Well, your activities have piqued our interest. You, and the Arcane University, seem to have taken quite an interest in the Wayshrines"  
"You were there," I said. "In the West Weald, at the shrine damaged by the Oblivion Gate"  
"Indeed, that was my personal quest, which I failed. I must applaud yours and Ancius' getaway"  
I paused for a few seconds. "What are you trying to hide?"  
The Imperial's voice lowered in tone. "You know too much, Erris Spires. You know how to end the world. You know the dark secret of the Gods, of the Wayshrines and of Nirn itself"  
"No, I don't," I answered honestly.  
"You know more than you are letting on. I don't appreciate being lied to"  
"I know only of the light that emanates from beneath Wayshrines, and of the Welkynd crystals growing in Bramblepoint Cave. I don't know why either of those things happen"  
"Funny how you should be snooping around all these places with a group of Arcane University scholars, though, is it not?"  
There was a knock at the door, interrupting us.  
"Mallius, I have his two friends," another Imperial said, entering the room. "We couldn't get anything out of them, either"  
"Bring them in," the man who I now knew to be called Mallius said. The other Imperial and two Nords dragged Ancius and Milie into the room we were in, which I was just beginning to take in – it was dank, Spartan and clad in rough stone. It was a prison cell. Where in the name of the Gods were we?  
Ancius and Milie were both blindfolded too, and were positioned each side of me, standing, but their hands bound together with wrist-irons.  
"Well, this is an interesting turn of events, isn't it, Erris?" Ancius said dryly.  
"I'll say" I replied.  
"You" Mallius said, pointing to Milie, despite her not being able to see this through her blindfold. "You're a student at the Arcane University, are you not?"  
Milie nodded nervously.  
"These two serfs don't seem to be of any use to me. Perhaps you could tell me what you have found out"  
"We know only of the magicka found beneath the Wayshrines. We were trying to determine a connection between it and the Welkynd crystals in Bramblepoint Cave. But I think we were treading old ground for the most part…"  
Evidently Milie decided that honesty was the best policy in order to stay alive. For some reason, I didn't.  
"But you have told us more than we already knew, Mallius" I blurted out. "We didn't know that the Gods were involved. What's going on?"  
"If the magicka is released, the world ends" Mallius replied evenly. "It is a secret the Gods have been trying to protect, and a secret that we are trying to help them protect. And, of course, there are now three too many people who know about this"  
"You're saying that the Wayshrines are somehow stopping the world from being destroyed?" I asked. "Like, I don't know, plugs over a vast underground reserve of magicka?"  
"That's right" Mallius replied. "And I'm sorry, Erris Spires"  
"For what?"  
"For the blood on your clothes"  
Before I could react, Mallius grabbed a huntsman's crossbow off a table next to him and fired it at point-blank range straight into Ancius' chest.  
"No…" I gasped. But as I did, Mallius had already strode over to Milie, reloading the crossbow and holding it to Milie's head, executioner-style. But he never got to pull the trigger.  
The door that Ancius and Milie had been brought in through was flung open and a bolt of lightning blasted into the room, striking Mallius in the chest and throwing him into the wall. At the same time, Galvel ran in, also carrying a crossbow, which he fired into one of the Nords at point-blank range, striking him in the bridge of the nose and killing him before he could react.  
The other white-robed Nord drew a shortsword from a scabbard around his waist, but no sooner had he done so than Galvel had cast his crossbow to the ground, summoning a Daedric dagger and throwing it straight into the Nord's chest. The other Imperial, the one who had brought Milie and Ancius in, managed to loose off a fireball, which passed so close to Galvel's head that it singed the blue hood he was wearing – Galvel fell to the ground, partly in evasion and partly in pain, revealing Magister Althren standing behind him, who returned a fireball of his own with a much better aim – it engulfed the Imperial and burned him to a crisp in seconds. The stench of burning flesh and blood that now filled the room nearly made me sick.  
My first reaction was to fall to Ancius' side. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that the crossbow bolt was still protruding from his chest, blood pouring from the wound.  
His eyes were closed and he was not moving. He had been murdered in cold blood but he still looked serene, at peace, as he lay on his back.  
"I'm sorry, Erris" Milie said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I didn't know what to say. My best friend had just been murdered right before my eyes, by a man supposedly acting for the Gods. What was the purpose of this divine plan?  
"We lost Ratty too," Galvel said solemnly. "He tried to break free of the bonds and they slashed his throat"  
"Who in the Gods' name are these people?" Althren thought out loud. "And where are we?"  
"I don't know, but I wouldn't mind leaving" Galvel said. "Let's see if we can't find a way out without running into any more of these fuckers… Erris, if you need a few minutes, just say…"  
I spoke for the first time, looking Galvel in the eye. "These people are guarding a dark secret. They killed Ancius and Ratty for it, and they would have killed the rest of us too. I don't want my friend to die in vain – I want to find out what they are hiding. That's what brought us here, is it not?"  
The others nodded.  
"The room we were in" Althren said. "It looked like a study of sorts. I think I can remember the way"  
Nervously, we followed Althren. As he walked, I could see little sparks shooting between his fingertips – he was ready to attack. Galvel walked next to him, a summoned sword held in his hand. We walked through the arched doorway into a stone corridor – tall and wide, with a red carpet running down its centre, it seemed to match the architecture of the Imperial City, but I knew we were somewhere else. I could sense that the air was thinner. Wherever we were, we were high up.  
Althren turned right, casting another spell on himself, which I hoped was life detection.  
We didn't encounter anyone else before we reached the room where Althren and Galvel were leading us.  
"How did you escape?" I heard Milie ask Galvel. Althren spun round.  
"Evidently the Gods didn't beget our friends with enough wisdom – they didn't realise that a powerful lightning spell concentrated on a very small area can cut through wrist-irons. They also didn't realise what our friend Galvel is like at throwing daggers"  
We all stepped into the room and Galvel carefully closed the door behind us, being careful not to slam it. Galvel turned around.  
"Bloody hell…"


	8. The End Of All Times Is Near

Calling the room a 'study' was an understatement. It was plastered in even more scribings and pictures than the cave we had found the Welkynd crystals in. One crude sketch stood out to us – a picture of a destroyed Wayshrine with light erupting from it, marked with the caption 'Observed near Anvil'.  
"Get reading" Althren said. "This is where the answers are"  
I glanced around. The first thing I saw was a map – it didn't take me long to realise that it was Tamriel. There were a few crosses on it – a couple in Cyrodiil, and one in Morrowind…  
"Oh shit, someone's coming…" Galvel whispered loudly. "Althren, at arms!"  
Althren nodded as the other three turned to face the door. But I was transfixed by a large sheet of paper pinned to the wall, covered in text. As I read it, my blood ran cold…  
Six of them came in. More Holy Crusaders, all bearing longbows, raised and ready to fire. Galvel and Althren knew not to retaliate.  
"Out. Now" one of the archers barked. We followed them. But, without them noticing, I managed to slip something off a hook on the wall…

* * *

We were led down a spiral staircase, and at one point I glanced out of an arrow-slit, the first glimpse I had had of the outside world since we had arrived in this place. It was daytime, but all I could see were mountains beyond mountains, coated in white. I guessed we were in the Jeralls somewhere, but I could not be sure.  
We reached the bottom of the stairs in a large, cube-shaped room with the familiar sight of a Wayshrine in its centre. The floor of the room was bare rock with a few straggly, half-dead weeds growing from cracks in it.  
"You built this whole structure over a Wayshrine" Althren observed.  
"Quite" one of the Crusaders, a Redguard, answered. "We brought you here to show you what you are meddling with. You may wish to close your eyes"  
The Redguard then pulled a metal lever on the wall and the disc-like centre of the Wayshrine rumbled as it receded downwards.  
Light beyond the purest white flooded into the room.

* * *

It was the next day. I was in my bedroom. I had been awake, ambling aimlessly around my room for some time. I was at a loss. Ancius Carro was dead. I had no-one else to go to. My family had no time for me. They had constantly had to provide for me when I couldn't find work. My siblings had all been cited as academics of considerable potential, but I was a gardener. A gardener who, over the last few days, had repeatedly almost got himself killed.  
_"Erris!"_  
I heard a shout outside. The voice was familiar.  
_"Erris! Get out of there!"_  
I raced over to the window and saw Galvel Othrelos standing outside, summoned sword in hand.  
"They're going for your house! Hide! I'm coming to help you!"  
I heard the front door being kicked down. Desperately, I looked around the bedroom for something – anything – I could use, and my eyes set upon my gardening tools. I picked up the shovel and hid behind the door.  
It didn't take long for the footfalls to reach the top of the stairs and the bedroom door to be thrown open. A lone Holy Crusader ran in, wielding a mace, but I managed to sneak up behind him and strike him around the head with the shovel, knocking him out cold. I heard more footfalls ascending the staircase.  
_Come on, Galvel…_ I thought. I grabbed my gardening fork, said a prayer to the Gods – who had not been particularly good to me recently – and stepped out onto the staircase, straight away throwing the fork like a javelin down their length. The fork hit the Crusader ascending the stairs, piercing a few inches into his chest and knocking him all the way to the bottom, where he landed in a clumsy, unconscious heap.  
Galvel Othrelos ran into the house and looked at the scene.  
"Didn't think you had it in you, Erris" he said. "What in the name of the Gods is going on? How did we get out of… wherever the fuck we were?"  
I shook my head. "The Redguard pulled that lever, light shone from the Wayshrine and then…"  
"I know. I found myself in the watchtower. Lucky we live in the same district, huh?"  
"Where are the others?" I asked Galvel. "Milie and Magister Althren?"  
"They can look after themselves. We'll go to their homes and find them. Come on"  
"Galvel, wait… Come inside and shut the door"  
Galvel obliged.  
"I have to tell you what I read in the study," I said nervously. "In case I don't make it. You need to know too…"  
"What is it?"  
I motioned Galvel to sit down, then I started speaking. "We've worked out that there's ambient magicka underground. You can find it underneath the Wayshrines, and sometimes it leaks, which is why you get natural Welkynd crystals.  
"But there's more to it than that. The very world itself is magicka. It permeates through every inch of ground, reaching all the way to the centre of the world. The ground itself is magicka. The Gods made it that way. Nirn – a divine world in an ocean of realms of Oblivion – a beacon of holiness, is magicka coalesced into what we know as reality"  
"What about the Wayshrines, then? They're at the middle of all this"  
"Exactly. They're plugs to stop it getting out. Imagine a bucket full of water. Imagine it was filled with holes, but these holes were corked. You take one cork out, water starts to trickle out. You take them all out…"  
"No more water. So if all the Wayshrines were to be destroyed at once, then what?"  
"There would be a cataclysmic release of magicka. But it's more than that – it is scattering the very essence of Nirn. It is undoing the Gods' will – undoing creation. What is the opposite of creation?"  
Galvel didn't need to answer.  
"Destruction" I said. "The end of the world. The complete destruction of reality itself. That's what they're trying to hide"  
"But what are the chances of every Wayshrine being destroyed at once? Only a few of us even know what's underneath them…"  
"I figured it out in that study. Pieced clues together. Mainly things that were written in that cave, Bramblepoint Hollow"  
I recited the riddle.

_In the deepest depths_  
_Of the deepest canyon_  
_Of the deepest cave_  
_Where Daedra roam_  
_In the plains of the northern isle_  
_Of the Dark Province_  
_It is here where one will find World's End_

"There was another line – I have a key, but what is it a key for?"  
I reached into my pocket. It was still there. An ancient-looking golden key, attached to a loop of rope. I had taken it from a hook that it hung on in the study.  
"Wherever this riddle is pointing to is a keyhole. This key goes in that keyhole and destroys all the Wayshrines at once. This key will end the world"  
We were both speechless. Even me just telling Galvel what I already knew made me shiver. I had the means to end the world. "But why?" I thought out loud.  
"Erris, you must know that Nirn is an anomaly, an Aedric realm in a universe of Daedra. You even told me that yourself. But what if Nirn were to fall to the Daedra? Would the Divines let their creation be corrupted, or would they just outright destroy it, offering those faithful to them salvation and elevation to Aethereus?"  
I briefly took Galvel Othrelos in. I initially thought he was just a soldier, a hired hand to guard Althren and Milie, but I soon realised that he was so much more than that. Beneath his tough physique was a fierce intelligence, but rather than being intelligent in a condescending way like Althren, it was just part of him.  
"This is real" Galvel continued. "The Holy Crusaders know about this doomsday device. They're even trying to harness it. That room they took us to – the Wayshrine – they were controlling its release. They managed to push us forward in time – can you remember anything that happened since we were in that room?"  
I shook my head.  
"Anyway, I don't know what we should do about this, but the first thing to do is find the others – where do you think Milie will be?"  
"At the Arcane University, I expect" I said.  
"Good – Magister Althren will be there too. We're going to have to take a bit of a detour though"  
"Detour?"  
"Yes. I saw the two assassins coming – they converged on your house from two different routes. If there's more of them, they're spread all over the city, so we can't go above ground. If we go around the edge of the city, we run too much risk of getting caught in open ground. Is there an entrance to the sewers in your basement?"  
"No, but there's one behind the house" I didn't like the sound of this. I'd heard the stories of what lurks in the sewers – vampires, ghosts…  
"Good. I can show you something interesting on the way"


	9. Where Do We Go Now But Nowhere?

The city seemed oppressive as I glanced out of the window. Scores of people walked through the Talos Plaza – any of them could have been an undercover agent, a member of the Holy Crusaders without their robe on. In some ways I was glad that we wouldn't be going outside.  
The journey through the sewers was thankfully uneventful. The occasional rat troubled us but Galvel, leading with a summoned longbow, was quite the sharp-shooter and quickly took care of them.  
At one point, he stopped in a dank, mouldy chamber with a foul stream flowing through its centre, and motioned me into a low tunnel in the wall. I didn't know what its purpose was, but if one stooped they could crawl through it, and thankfully it looked clean.  
Frequently, the tunnel would cross vertical shafts through which daylight shone. The smell of rotting fruit was overpowering – rubbish chutes.  
Galvel stopped as we reached the ninth one of these shafts. I knew that that fact had significance when Galvel reached across the shaft and pressed a perfectly square brick on the other side, which receded into the wall as he did so.  
"How do you know your way around here?" I asked. "Were you a Blade or something?"  
"Research projects" Galvel replied. "A bit like this one started out as – I tagged along to make sure no-one got hurt. There are many buried treasures beneath the City"  
"Like what?"  
Galvel didn't need to answer. The base of the shaft fell away, a hidden trapdoor. A pile of moulding fruit plummeted into unseen depths – the shaft led into a huge cavern, but the pale blue glow of magicka was unmistakeable.  
"There's a path down into that cave from every district of the City" Galvel explained. "But this is the only one I know. We're underneath the Arboretum somewhere at the moment"  
"Do we have time for this? We're near the University"  
Galvel glanced at me. Whatever was in the cave, it was important.  
"You've been down there before?"  
"Yeah, with a group of architects, of all people. You'll see why"  
We climbed down a series of handholds cut into the wall of the shaft. Galvel went first, leaving me to pray that no-one decided to dump a bucket of shit down the chute until we were at the bottom.  
The concealed trapdoor seemed to lead on to nothing but a huge plummet, but as Galvel reached the last handhold he swung out across the cavern, landing on a stone walkway suspended just beyond the trapdoor. Knowing that I wasn't as athletic as him, he helped me off the ladder onto the walkway.  
Immediately, we heard echoing footfalls. Someone else was down here, and they were getting closer.  
Using me to shield the light of the spell from whoever might be watching, Galvel summoned a longbow and knelt down in a marksman's stance.  
I saw two figures come into view, and pushed Galvel's arm down just before he fired. It saved our friends' lives. I had caught a flash of green and blue – Althren and Milie, still wearing their robes.  
Galvel grinned. "Well spotted. Come on!"  
As Galvel led me down yet another ladder, I took in the huge cave. It was circular, about the size of the Arcane University, and in its centre was a gargantuan white pillar, at least forty yards across, ornately carved, filling up the entire height of the cave. I was looking at the foundations of White Gold Tower. From the point where crafted stone met natural rock, huge clumps of Welkynd glass grew, the source of the blue light that bathed the cave.

* * *

The only thing that greeted me when Galvel and I met with Milie and Althren was a conversation I did not understand a word of – clearly their nature as researchers could never be repressed.  
"It was a thought I had earlier," Althren said at a point where I was paying attention. "When have you ever seen a Wayshrine and an Ayleid well in close proximity? Never. That's because they're the same thing, but the Ayleids knew how to regulate their power"  
Galvel motioned the other two to stop talking. "Erris, tell them everything that you told me"  
I did.  
Silence descended on the cave.  
"The Ayleids were trying to save the world…" Milie said softly, in disbelief. "Don't you see? Ayleid wells, Welkynd and Varla stones… they were siphoning the magicka out of the ground and giving it metaphysical form"  
Evidently I looked very confused, so Althren explained what they were talking about, and why they had all been drawn to this room.  
"For centuries, man has believed that White Gold Tower holds some mythical power, even if they do not know the nature of it. You know that the bulk of the Imperial City was actually built by the Ayleids, don't you?"  
I nodded – I'd read a few history books in my time. "We just moved in"  
"Exactly. Most of the time Ayleid architecture has no rhyme or reason. Their subterranean buildings are mazes, and what was built above ground seemed to just be a random sprawl. But then they built a perfectly circular city with a huge spire in its centre"  
"Over the top of an enormous magicka leak" Milie added. "The Ayleids had been at work on this for a long time… Maybe the mythology behind White Gold Tower is true – it is the source of all magicka in Nirn"  
"Maybe. It's something I've contemplated in the past…"  
"People, it's not the time for a scientific debate," Galvel said, interrupting them. "Might I remind you that before they gave us a kick through time, we were being held captive by a group of religious madmen trying to guard this secret, the secret they were willing to kill for?"  
"We have to know if it's true," I added. The other three turned to look at me, so I produced the golden key from my pocket. "If this is just a key, which doesn't fit in anything, then the world is safe. In fact, the world will be significantly progressed – if we can understand the underground magicka, just think of the potential…"  
"I think we need to pursue the riddle written on the wall in Bramblepoint Cave" Althren said, and then recited it from memory.

_In the deepest depths_  
_Of the deepest canyon_  
_Of the deepest cave_  
_Where Daedra roam_  
_In the plains of the northern isle_  
_Of the Dark Province_  
_It is here where one will find World's End_

"What's the Dark Province, though?" Althren continued. "Black Marsh?"  
Milie shook her head. "There's no 'northern isle' though"  
"I know where it is," Galvel said evenly. "The place I was born…"  
"What, Anvil?" Althren asked.  
"No, Morrowind, you fucking moron" Galvel replied. Althren apparently seemed unfazed by the insult. "The 'northern isle' must be Vvardenfell"  
"But that's it" I said. "No more clues after that. I imagine there's a hell of a lot of caves in Vvardenfell"  
"Yes, there is" Milie said, seemingly thinking out loud. "But we're forgetting another line of the scrawlings in Bramblepoint Cave – consult Molag Bal's daughter"  
As they spoke, I thought of the vast wall of text we had discovered in that cave. Everything – the Wayshrines, the Ayleid wells and towers, the key and its keyhole – reminded me of one line.

_To interfere with this delicate system is to hold a dagger to the throat of the world._

I drifted off, but something Althren said brought me back to attention.  
"We can lie low down here for a few hours"  
"Will it be safe?" Galvel asked. Milie nodded, seeming to understand Althren.  
"Heavily religious scholars of magic ignore the work of the Ayleids" Althren continued. "They dismiss them as heathens. I imagine our friends The Holy Crusaders will not see the significance of this site"  
I wasn't convinced. They had found us in Bramblepoint Hollow easily. But, nevertheless, after a few hours we left, Galvel navigating us through the sewers to the Arcane University.

* * *

It was the next day again. I'd spent most of it killing time – under the watchful eye of two Battlemages, whilst Milie and Althren spent the day locked in the Council Tower with Raminus Polus, the administrator.  
It turned out that expeditions weren't allowed to begin, or continue, without two Battlemage escorts and, having lost Ratty, they were hesitant to assign anyone else to the quest. The fact that I wanted to continue despite my friend having been killed in cold blood didn't seem to faze them.  
Eventually, Magister Althren made the heads see sense by suggesting that someone else like himself joins the quest – that is, someone with a keen interest in the subject who can handle themselves in a fight.  
When Althren, Milie and Galvel came to retrieve me, there were in fact two new people with them.  
Captain Travian, the head of the Battlemages, was someone who everyone knew. Fifty years old, with slicked auburn hair and a rakish goatee, he was known as a champion archer – an unusual combat discipline for a mage, but he was bloody good at it. Word had it he was also a master fighter with both bladed and blunt weapons. He was also fiercely intelligent and hugely knowledgeable, but always curious to learn more – he would often fly in the face of University regulations and go off on expeditions on his own, knowing he would be able to handle whatever threat he found.  
Battlemage Theondel was a Bosmer in her late twenties, stunningly beautiful but with a mouth like a Waterfront docker – it didn't take long before Galvel joked that she had been recruited to replace Ancius on the expedition. She was a field agent for the Battlemages, and had been a key player in the war between the Mages' Guild and Mannimarco a few years earlier, ambushing the necromancer Falcar and pursuing him for three days through the backcountry, eventually apprehending and killing him.  
I felt immediately safer around our two new recruits.


	10. Elegy

"Raminus has briefed me on what has happened so far" Captain Travian said as we settled down in a dingy Waterfront inn. "I've encountered the Crusaders before – nasty people. Really nasty"  
"I thought I was aware of all the religious groups in Cyrodiil" Althren said. "This group seems to be huge though – how are they not widely known?"  
"Because nobody likes to talk about them," Travian said, somewhat ominously. "They're extremists, fanatics, whatever you want to call them. Their underlying principles may be good, but their practices are not"  
"I'm not sure I can consider the Nine to be 'good' after I found that they had engineered a doomsday device into the very world they created" Galvel mused.  
"Quite" Travian replied. "We'll come back to that later, though. You need to know who you're up against. These are the bastards who stalk Cyrodiil, killing anyone who won't join their order, proclaiming them to be heretics, or running witch-hunts – laying siege to settlements for weeks, killing scores of innocent people, all supposedly in the name of the Gods"  
"And yet the Gods supposedly condone them" Galvel said.  
"I don't see this as the time for a theological debate, Magister Othrelos" Travian said. "Don't let their religious beliefs fool you – the Holy Crusaders are bad to the bone. And now they've discovered this secret that they are willing to kill to protect"  
The Wayshrines.  
"Anyway, we have three new players in this game that we need to track down. The first is a friend of mine…"  
"Balak?" Theondel asked. "That ugly brute?"  
"That ugly brute is how I know so much about the Holy Crusaders" Travian replied, scowling at his comrade. "He's my man on the inside. Six years ago, I sent him to infiltrate the group. Four years ago, he returned in secret to the University, told me everything he had found out, including a prisoner that the Crusaders have who they apprehended in Bramblepoint Cave…"  
Theondel said a name again, but I wasn't listening. Everything had come full circle – we were not the first who this group had captured in Bramblepoint Cave. I wondered if they had found the original inhabitant of the cave, the apparent expert in the Wayshrines.  
"The very same. Balak told me he was going to the Crusaders' base camp, so to speak, and by the sounds of it, you were all there too"  
"You think they're both still alive?" Althren asked Travian.  
"I expect so" Travian replied. "Lithnilian is probably their main source of knowledge, and Balak's too good to get himself killed. And I'm hoping that you four might be able to give me some information that could lead to the whereabouts of the Crusaders' fortress"  
"All I could see were mountains," I said. "We could have been anywhere"  
"Ah, yes, but you can narrow it down, Master Spires. For example, were the mountains covered in snow, or just tundra and permafrost?"  
I looked at the Captain blankly for a second then answered. "The second one. There was bare ground below the peaks"  
Theondel spoke next. "And how cold was it? Shit winters' day cold or Bruma at nighttime cold?"  
"It was cold, but not unbearably so" Milie said.  
"You were in the Valus Mountains, then. Never been up there before? They're sheltered from the worst of the north winds by the Jeralls and the mountains in Skyrim, but the south winds are channelled straight up the Niben valley towards them. The peaks of the Valus range are surprisingly warm"  
"And the Valus Mountains bring us to our third key player" Travian continued. "His name is Yggskard. From Skyrim, a real bear of a man. He lives at a remote shrine to Molag Bal, more or less on the Morrowind border. A Daedra worshipper, but not a bad man, and bloody clever to boot"  
"Molag Bal's daughter…" I thought aloud.  
"Exactly. If anyone knows what the connection between Molag Bal's daughter and the doomsday device is, it's the combined minds of Lithnilian and Yggskard"  
Soon, everyone quickly dissipated. Captain Travian, Theondel and Galvel all left to make battle preparations, whilst Althren went to the Mystic Archives for some reason that I was not privy to. Only myself and Milie, under the watchful eye of two guards inside the inn, remained.  
"Do you remember how this started out, Milie?" I asked, taking a sip of my ale. "I overheard Magister Althren's lecture when I was at work, nothing more…"  
"Even the greatest journey begins with a single step, Erris" Milie replied. "I've always loved the story of the Nerevarine – starting off as a prisoner, building a simple life in Seyda Neen, going on to defeat Dagoth Ur…"  
"And we started off just wondering why light shone from broken Wayshrines. Look what it's got us into"  
I could tell by Milie's expression that my words were sinking in – the mystery dating back for aeons, the crossing of Ayleid technology into Divine sorcery, our apprehension by the mysterious Divine Crusaders, the deaths of Ancius and Ratty, and now Captain Travian seeming to turn the expedition into taking the fight to the Crusaders.  
"Sometimes I wish it was just the three of us again," I continued.  
"Me too" Milie said softly. "Me and my two boys, setting off joyfully on an adventure… Are you alright?"  
"I'll really miss him," I said wistfully. "I don't know what I'll do if I survive this…"  
Milie smiled sweetly. "Just for you, I'll try and survive as well"  
Suddenly I was reminded of the strange dream I experienced whilst unconscious and being taken to the Divine Crusaders' fortress. The dream may have been showing me the end of the world. Myself and Milie were in love, though, and I could not deny that. Was it a vision of the future? Was our love something mapped out before us that we were yet to realise? And more importantly, were we going to be there to watch the end of the world?

* * *

Travian, Galvel and Theondel had been gone for a whole day when they returned to our camp high up in the Valus Mountains – I had to confess to having no idea where we were. I could just about glimpse White Gold Tower's magical spire on the western horizon, but that was it.  
Whatever they had been doing at the Holy Crusaders' fortress, it had been a tough fight. They were all covered in cuts and scratches, Travian walking with a slight limp, and Galvel with a huge burn mark across the front of his robe. Two others were with them – an Orc in a white robe and an Altmer.  
The Orc was Balak gra-Aurash, Travian's 'man on the inside'. He made sure the others reached camp then evidently decided to head back to the fortress before anyone noticed he was missing.  
Lithnilian, the Altmer, was the scholar whose work we had encountered in Bramblepoint Cave – the prisoner of the Holy Crusaders that Captain Travian had spoken of. He looked confused, beaten and malnourished – evidently he had not been rewarded well for the information he had given them.  
Althren shook hands with his fellow Altmer. "Good to see you, Lithnilian"  
"And you, Magister" Lithnilian replied hoarsely. "Never did I think my research project would end up like this…"  
"Your project is the only way we knew where to find you" Althren said. "Did you notice anything strange happen… oh, it must have been a few days ago now"  
"Yes, there was a bright flash of light and something more, a spiritual feeling of uneasiness… I knew that they had activated their Wayshrine… you don't know about that, though…"  
"Yes, we do" I said. "And it doesn't fill me with happy memories, so shall we move on?"  
"Of course, my friend" Lithnilian said to me. "So, where are we? Why am I here?"  
"Morrowind border, pretty much" Galvel said.  
"And you're here because we're taking to you to see Yggskard" Althren added.  
Lithnilian paused. "Now there's a name I haven't heard for a while…"  
Althren and Captain Travian then filled Lithnilian in on everything that had happened so far. I quickly drifted off from the conversation, taking in the spectacular views around us instead. Soon, it was announced that we would be continuing, with Travian leading the way to the remote Molag Bal shrine where this knowledgeable Nord supposedly lived.

* * *

Yggskard turned out to be a tall, hairy-bearded fellow with shoulders as wide as an oak tree. He was dressed in thick fur, spoke with a deep, booming voice and was tremendously friendly, offering us all mead and stew as soon as he saw and recognised Travian and Althren approaching the shrine. So we sat and dined, a rough, worn stone statue of Molag Bal towering above us. There was no-one else at the shrine – the silence high up in the mountains was eerie.  
"Now, you two are going to solve a mystery for us" Travian said eventually, glancing between Yggskard and Lithnilian.  
"What might that be?" Yggskard asked as he took a swig of mead from a wooden tankard.  
"Molag Bal's daughter" Lithnilian asked. "Something related to magicka – in Morrowind – but I know he has many daughters…"  
Yggskard's eyes widened. "I think I know which one you may be talking about, though. Go on…"  
"I heard a tale that Molag Bal once had a follower execute his daughter for consorting with an atronach" Lithnilian said.  
"Damn, and I thought my old man was a stern guy…" Theondel remarked to laughter.  
"Anyway" Lithnilian snapped. "Althren, you will follow my reasoning. What is an atronach but a conglomeration of elemental magic?"  
Once again, another in-depth conversation began between Lithnilian, Milie, Galvel and Althren. I couldn't understand much of what was said, but I did learn that the salts left behind by dead atronachs are a solidified form of magicka, much like Welkynd glass. They say you learn something new every day…  
"Nomeg Gwai – that's one of Molag's daughters – was always dangerously obsessed with destruction," Yggskard said. "Always coming up with ever more elaborate plots to destroy Nirn. Thought she could win her dad's favour that way, you know?"  
"He knew too…" Galvel said softly.


	11. You Have A Right To Mountain Life

"Think about it" Galvel continued. "Nomeg Gwai 'consorting with an atronach' is a pretty thinly-veiled analogy. She had found the keyhole, the source of the magicka in Morrowind. She was going to use it to destroy Tamriel"  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Yggskard said, "But Molag Bal had a reputation to protect. If he stopped our world from being destroyed, he'd probably no longer be seen as 'evil'. Not that he truly is, just prone to thinking outside the box…"  
"So he coerced one of his followers into killing his daughter for him," Travian said. "Do you know what happened to the follower?"  
"Aye. Poor guy brought it on himself" Yggskard said. "Obsessed with collecting Daedric artifacts. Sheogorath wasn't so kind to him. Killed him. I'd probably prefer not to know how, knowing how that mad old bastard works…"  
"And now the important bit" Althren asked. "Do you know where all this happened?"  
"Where Nomeg Gwai was killed? Aye, I do. Well, I know it by name alone. A cave called Dubdilla…"  
Yggskard had just got the name of the cave out before Theondel dived on top of him, throwing him to the ground. She hadn't been quite quick enough as an arrow thudded into his shoulder, but it was clear that it would otherwise have hit him in the head and killed him. Travian ducked down, casting a spell on himself and drawing his longbow. Galvel did the same.  
"One to the north, Captain" Galvel whispered. "No, two… Shit, they're everywhere!"  
As one of our hidden attackers clearly stepped out of cover to fire off another shot, Travian fired, quicker off the draw, hitting the attacker in the torso, knocking him from the tree he was hiding in.  
"Everybody down!" Travian ordered. "Get Yggskard to safety! Erris, for Gods' sake, get in cover!"  
I nodded and bolted for the statue of Molag Bal, Galvel following close behind me. Milie, Althren and Lithnilian were stood by a clump of rocks that offered them slight cover, but Travian, Theondel and the wounded Yggskard were out in open ground.  
Another arrow sailed through the trees, striking Yggskard in the chest. He convulsed with the impact and coughed up blood. Travian spotted the attacker and returned fire, as he ran over to Yggskard and incredibly managed to heave the big Nord over his shoulders, staggering to the rocks where the others were pinned down. Arrows continued to pepper the ground as he ran, whilst Galvel stood ducked behind the statue, trying to spot the marksmen.  
"Bandits?" I asked him.  
"Nah, bastards have followed us, haven't they?"  
It was then that I caught a glimpse of one of our attackers. Somehow I knew that Galvel was right, that they were the Holy Crusaders, but they were dressed differently, wearing black robes and hoods, and leather masks obscuring their faces. I could see the assassin racing through the trees towards the clearing. Galvel ducked out of cover to fire, but was immediately pushed back in when two arrows flew out of the trees and narrowly missed him.  
Then, we spotted another assassin through the trees.  
"Damnit…" Galvel said to himself. "They're keeping us forced into cover whilst they move closer"  
Then, we heard a noise above us. It was Captain Travian – he had climbed up the statue of Molag Bal and was stood on top of it, his bow drawn. As the first assassin ran into the clearing, Travian nailed him with a perfectly-aimed shot. Clearly the marksmen were hidden in the trees and couldn't fire up through the canopy, which Travian was now above – it was a brilliant piece of thinking.  
But then, suddenly, Travian was thrown from his perch by an impact from behind. The arrow didn't dent his armour but knocked him forward, tumbling down the statue and landing at Molag Bal's feet in a crumpled heap. They were behind us too.  
"We're not safe here!" Galvel hissed. "Come on!"  
"Galvel!" a female voice shouted. We glanced around to see Theondel, stood by the boulders, holding a key in her hand, which she expertly threw to Galvel. "Old man says there's a weapons chest down there!"  
Galvel located the chest, hidden under a bush at the base of the statue, and opened it whilst I continued to watch the clearing nervously. Althren was preparing to make a run to Travian, but just as he jumped out of cover, an assassin, armed with a deadly ebony sword, burst out of the trees mere yards away from Althren, moving at tremendous speed. Althren did all he could and dropped to the ground, the assassin's weight carrying him forward and tripping him. It was just as well he had, for an arrow from another hidden marksman shot out of the trees, skimming over Althren's head. The Altmer tried to get to his feet before the assassin, but failed. I couldn't watch. But then, Theondel jumped up, holding a throwing knife in her hand – a wicked length of razor-sharp steel – and hurled it into the assassin's chest.  
"Erris, we have to go" Galvel re-iterated as he pulled a crossbow out of the weapons chest – a telescope-like cylinder glowing with enchantment was mounted atop it. "Now what do we have here?"  
"We can't leave the others" I retorted. "Yggskard and the Captain are both hurt…"  
Galvel peered through the scope on top of the crossbow. His eyes widened. "No, you're right, we can't…"  
Galvel pulled the trigger on the crossbow and a fraction of a second later I heard a howl of pain as he found his target. Reloading, he ran around to the other side of the statue. "Break out of cover! I've got my eyes open!"  
Althren scrabbled to his feet and bolted for the statue, collapsing by my side.  
"Bet this doesn't happen to you every day, does it?" he gasped. Althren then cast a spell on himself and raised his hands to cast another – sure enough, an assassin popped out from behind a rock somewhere in the trees behind us, but Althren had second-guessed the move and fired off a bolt of lightning, which burst off the rock in a shower of sparks and forced him back into hiding.  
"Damn, there's a lot of them out there…" Althren whispered, using a life-detection spell to determine the exact extent to which we were fucked.  
Galvel reached the wounded Travian, awake but dazed, and helped him to his feet, firing off a shot from the crossbow with his spare hand. As an assassin hidden somewhere in the trees roared with pain, Galvel motioned Milie and Lithnilian to run to the statue…  
"No! Stay where you are!" Althren cried desperately, running out of our cover behind the statue. I tried to jump up and pull him down but I wasn't quick enough. He made two yards before an arrow struck him in the chest.  
Milie saw this and dived down behind the rocks again, dragging Lithnilian with her. We'd just been forced into a bottleneck – the Crusaders were approaching us from two sides, and we had no chance of climbing the peaks surrounding the other two sides of the shrine to get away from them. We were cornered.  
Then, the last thing I expected happened. I saw an assassin pop out of cover to take another pot-shot at us, but as soon as he stood he was struck by an arrow – from behind. The attacker ran forwards, leaping over his prey and vaulting over the rock he had been hiding behind. He looked straight at myself and Galvel, a finger over his lips. Be quiet.  
The man reached us, and pulled off his hood and mask. He was a Redguard, and I recognised him. He had been in the Crusaders' stronghold. He was the one who had led us down to their Wayshrine and pulled the lever that seemed to have bumped us all forward in time.  
"It's alright, I'm against these bastards too," he drawled. "Cover your friends. I'll hold off the guys behind us"  
"So, what, you're a double-agent?" Galvel asked.  
"Something like that. I had infiltrated the Crusaders; until I got exiled the other day for letting you lot escape. You can thank me later"  
Galvel nodded and notched another arrow into his crossbow.  
"Go! You're covered!" he called out to Milie and Lithnilian. Once again, he seemingly fired blindly into the undergrowth, but his shot found a target and a cry of pain echoed through the valley. Milie and Lithnilian lost no time, leaping to their feet and bolting for the cover of the statue, as our Redguard saviour fired arrow after arrow out into the woodlands, some aimed, others warning shots.  
The returns of fire became less frequent until, after one final shot from Galvel, they stopped.  
We all breathed a sigh of relief and took stock.  
Yggskard and Captain Travian were both unconscious from their injuries. They needed to be taken back to civilisation.  
"Oh, Althren…" Milie gasped as she saw the Altmer lying on the ground near the statue. In the chaos, nobody had been able to get to him in time. The arrow to his chest had killed him.  
"I'm sorry," I said, putting my hand on Milie's shoulder. I knew how fond she was of the old Magister. "He deserved better"  
Then, all eyes turned on the Redguard. All he did in the face of this was smile warmly.  
"Helecan" he introduced himself. "Scholar and expeditioner, freelance. Good at turning up in the nick of time"  
"I'll say" Galvel replied. "So…"  
"The Wayshrines need to be understood, harnessed, not to be a secret kept hidden from everybody. That's what the Crusaders were doing. I've been trying to stop them on my own for years, but now it looks like I've got help…"  
"We need to get Yggskard and the Captain back into the mainland" Theondel said. "I don't rate their chances up here…"  
"I presume you're heading to Morrowind next," Helecan said. "I'll catch up with you there, if I can. I'll take our Nord friend to safety"  
"I'll take the Captain" Theondel added. "My work here is done. I just need to go back to Raminus and get a bollocking off him now"  
Theondel looked understandingly at Helecan, and then spoke again. "I don't think we should be interfering in your quest. I don't even know what you plan to do when you find… whatever it is you're actually looking for. Galvel will navigate you from here. We'll catch up with you in Morrowind"  
"I've done my bit," Helecan added. "The Divine Crusaders' offensive power lies in ruins after the attack on their stronghold and their fumbled resistance. You've got a huge headstart over them"  
"Headstart? What do you mean?" Lithnilian asked.  
"Isn't it obvious?" Helecan asked rhetorically. "The Crusaders don't know about Dubdilla yet. Yes, they had the key for it, but to paraphrase Lithnilian here, they don't know what it's for"  
"They ignored Daedric lore, because of their strong religious beliefs" Milie said. "Just like they missed the significance of most Ayleid sites. Their narrow-mindedness is playing against them. If they didn't explore the Molag Bal connection, they would have had no way of knowing where the cave is…"  
"Exactly. So go. Go and find Dubdilla before they do"  
I knew Helecan was right. I thought of everyone we had lost so far – Ancius, Ratty and Magister Althren. We couldn't give up now.


	12. The Rain It Rains

Lithnilian seemed to recover very quickly. I think it was the break-out that had worn him out – the Crusaders seemed to have treated him well, possibly in an attempt to get more information out of him. On our journey, he told us what he knew about the whole sorry saga.  
"There was a few of us in Vvardenfell who were investigating the ambient magicka" he explained. "I went to Cyrodiil to study the Wayshrines, which is how I ended up in Bramblepoint Cave before I was captured. But my friend went out in search of the cave where there was supposedly a keyhole that unleashed whatever the Wayshrines were plugging"  
"And now we have the key" I said.  
"Yes, we do. I don't know how successful she was, because I've obviously lost contact with her, but I'm hoping she's still on the ground in Vvardenfell.  
"She was researching a local myth – both the tribesmen of the Grazelands and the citizens of the towns that surround them speak of a cave known as World's End, where it is said that there is a device which can destroy everything that exists. The important thing here is that it is mentioned in both cultured and tribal folklore"  
"Here you will find World's End" Galvel said, reciting the last line of the riddle that was leading us to Morrowind.  
"Exactly! It's an old Dunmer verse, that riddle. It has puzzled scholars for aeons – until now"  
"What about the cave, then?" I asked. "Is it possible that it could have been discovered already?"  
"No, but a select few scholars believe they knew its location, and it turned out that they were right. Dubdilla cave was spoken of in hushed tones. It supposedly opens up into a huge network of underground tunnels and ravines thought to be volcanic in origin – old lava flues. It's a labyrinth down there. You make one turn, you're lost forever. You don't watch your step; you stumble into a pit hidden in the shadows and break your neck. It sounds like a thoroughly unpleasant place to me"  
"Hey, I've lived in Bravil…" Galvel quipped. Lithnilian ignored the remark and continued.  
"But the verse about the lock and key came from Imperial texts that I discovered in the Arcane University's library. And with it was more fairly nonsensical verse, but there were snippets about caves and the end of the world. Apart from Lorkhan it seems to be the only point where Imperial and Dunmer theologies overlap"  
"That can't be coincidence," Milie said softly. "Lorkhan created the world, this ends it…"  
Lithnilian nodded. "Even Nordic mythology mentions 'the very Earth Bones being rent asunder' in one legend. It's hidden away, but every religion practiced in Vvardenfell has some reference to the cave, or the Wayshrines. The Ayleids knew about it. Even Daedra worshippers seem to know about it – look at how Yggskard led us to where we're going. If the world's going to end, this is how it's going to happen"

* * *

It went like this. Vvardenfell was a land of great adventures. They say that if you're an adventurer, you need never leave the island. Its dynamic history and politics have left it riddled with interesting things to go and discover.  
Before our great adventure to Vvardenfell, the last great adventure was undertaken by a man who arrived in Seyda Neen, just was was told. They knew he was coming, but he didn't know why he had been sent there. It turned out that he was prophecised to defeat Dagoth Ur at Red Mountain, end the Blight and free the island from his grip, just as was told.  
His adventure ended with the sky's rich honey bathing the island. Mine concluded with the end of the world.

* * *

It went like this. It took us over a week to reach Vvardenfell. We took our time, staying off major roads – we knew that it was not likely that the Divine Crusaders would trouble us in what they thought to be a godless state, a province where the Almsivi and Daedra were worshipped. I knew that the Empire ran a lot of missions around the province, but I'd always thought it was just a way for what was left of the Septim dynasty to keep hold of some of its real estate.  
It was not an easy journey, either – settlements in the remote mountains and plains of the Dunmer province were infrequent, and we did not have much food for the journey. I had to rely on the occasional fruit tree we found and whatever wildlife Galvel could hunt. The others were delighted to see that almost every tree in the wetlands was surrounded by a ring of little fleshy umbrellas, but I've always hated mushrooms. They are clearly not something meant by the Gods to be eaten – something they demonstrate to us through their slimy texture, their grotesque physical appearance and the fact that most of them have some sort of detrimental effect on whoever eats them.  
Thankfully, our route took us through the more Imperialised parts of Morrowind. I had heard of certain cities in the east that I hoped to never visit. Tear, with its huge open-air slave pens, where thousands were held captive in horrendous conditions, and Necrom, the huge necropolis where the dead of Morrowind are buried. That said, I had heard that the temple in the centre of the city is a magnificent sight.  
We eventually reached a small, nondescript fishing village on the coast of the Inland Sea, where a ferry would take us across to the Imperial port of Ebonheart on Vvardenfell, where we would meet another of Lithnilian's Altmer friends. It seemed that the Altmer population on Vvardenfell was quite a tightly-knit community.  
The crossing was fast, the seas fairly calm and with a southern wind behind us we made quick time on the ferry.

Harlin was in the Six Fishes Inn in Ebonheart when we arrived in the town – I seemed to have developed a knack for involving myself with people who mainly were to be found in drinking establishments. Although Lithnilian and Althren had worn their hair in the seemingly standard Elven mane, Harlin's was windswept, framed with a stubbly beard not unlike mine. He was a very ebullient chap, a sailor by trade and one of the most immediately likeable people I've ever met.  
"Lithie, you old dog!" he exclaimed when he saw us enter the inn, standing up from a table around which was seated a group who could only have been the crew of his ship. "What the devil are you doing in this fine town?"  
Lithnilian ran over and embraced Harlin. "Coming back from my expedition. I've been away for far too long"  
More somberly, Harlin looked Lithnilian up and down. "They say you disappeared. That was years ago. We all thought you were dead"  
"So did I, for a while. Listen – it's still on. What do you know of Cumanya?"  
"Haven't heard from her either. You know what you scholars are like – you disappear on expeditions for years then turn up again as though nothing's happened! Last I heard she'd… found what she was looking for"  
The pair glanced around the pub. Nobody except myself, Galvel and Milie were paying them the slightest bit of attention.  
"World's End" Harlin said clearly. "She thought she knew where it was, you know, triangulated its location from every reference she could find. Somewhere out in the arse end of nowhere in the Grazelands. Who are your friends?"  
"They've joined my expedition, or at least crossed paths with it. This is Erris Spires, Milie Lafontaine and Galvel Othrelos"  
We all shook hands with Harlin. "You're all mages too?"  
"I'm a gardener," I said bashfully.  
"It's a noble trade, Erris. You harness nature's beauty, and somehow it's ended up giving you a little holiday to this fine island – what could be wrong with that?"  
"Fine island?" somebody from Harlin's table scoffed. "Damn place is usually on fire!"  
"Jorger Wave-Skipper, the bos'un of my ship" Harlin explained. "Damn good sailor, considering that he's nearly always pissed"  
"Do you still have the Flying Fish, Harlin?" Lithnilian asked. His friend nodded.  
"Like I'd let go of a boat like her. Do you need a ride?"  
Lithnilian nodded. "To Tel Mora, or Vos. We're trying to find Cumanya, or at least the cave she found"  
"I've had far too much ale to sail today, Lithie" Harlin replied. "Stay the night. Beds are bloody comfy in this inn. We'll sail out at dawn"

It was an enjoyable night, and at no point did I get the impression that I was in Morrowind, such was the Imperialisation of Ebonheart. Cyrodiilic ale flowed freely, and there was a group of musicians playing music that for some reason I knew to be native to the West Weald – we were, of course, in a harbour town, the only place it is acceptable to perform a sea shanty in public. I even managed to persuade the fiddle player to surrender his instrument and let me play a few songs. Of course, getting a whole inn to join in with a sea shanty because all it requires from them is to shout "Way-hey, haul 'er away!" or something after every line. The people of Ebonheart also seemed oddly receptive towards Colovian fiddle tunes – I suspect that in my lifetime I may never find out why this is.

It was a crisp, sunny morning with a good southerly breeze which would get behind us to sail us up the coast to the Grazelands, Harlin said. It was better than endlessly tacking against an easterly, anyway. Jorger Wave-Skipper, the bos'un, stood on the deck hollering orders at the small crew as we negotiated our way around Vivec city – we just stood on the deck marvelling at the spectacle of the magnificent city of canals. All except Galvel of course, who had seen the city many times and engaged himself in the very manly pursuit of crossbow maintenance. It reminded me of a point I'd been meaning to raise since we left Cyrodiil.  
"It's unlike you to actually carry a weapon with you, isn't it?" I asked Galvel. I was right – he nearly always summoned whatever he needed in a fight. All I'd ever seen him carry before now was the ceremonial sword he sometimes wore around the University.  
"Wait…" Galvel said until we passed between two of the huge towers that made up Vivec, plunging us into shadows. Galvel held up the eyepiece on the crossbow for me to look through, and I was surprised to see my view through it lit up a pale blue, as bright as day. Galvel then swivelled the weapon slightly until it was pointing at Harlin, who was manning the wheel – I could see his tall figure clearly, but he was emerged in a lilac glow.  
"You look through it, you see with night-eye and life detection," Galvel said. "I'll be buggered if I know how they did that – it's a seriously sophisticated enchantment"  
"I wonder how Yggskard came by it, then…" I thought out loud.  
"Probably just the project of some mad Dwarven inventor that he found in his travels" Milie said. "I've seen Dwarven axes enchanted with fire purely as a tool to cut through ice in northern Morrowind…"  
I changed the subject, anticipating another in-depth scientific debate, by pointing out the sudden change in scenery. We had passed the limits of Vivec. The tower of Molag Mar leapt up in the distance, the shore to the north being grey, lifeless and undulating, with hundreds of tiny islands peppering the sea to the south.  
"Vvardenfell for you" Galvel said. "Predominantly uninhabited and grey"


	13. Fire Marengo

Once the route had taken us up Azura's Coast, we encountered Zafirbel Bay, which Harlin told us was the most dangerous part of the voyage. The only option in such a small ship was to pick our way through the hundreds of dome-shaped islands that filled up the bay, for heading east into open waters would mean we picked up a strong maritime current which would drag us south back to where we set off.  
On one of the islands, a ragged-looking Dunmer man was stood. Probably just a fisherman by my reckoning, but Galvel looked uneasy and rested one hand on his crossbow, lying on the deck next to him.  
"I don't like the look of this…" Galvel whispered, pointing behind us. None of us had noticed, but there was another ship behind us, maybe a mile away, following the same route through the islands as us.  
"This is the only route through the islands that won't tear a hole in the hull," Harlin said. "The captain of that plank's probably grateful to have someone to follow"  
But Harlin was wrong.  
The Dunmer on the island that we were passing suddenly pulled up a longbow, concealed behind a rock, nocked a fire-tipped arrow into it and fired. We watched, horrified, as the arrow soared in a graceful parabolic arc, striking the Flying Fish's mainsail near its base.  
"Fuck me sideways!" Harlin shouted. "Jorger, give me a hand with this sail!"  
The big Nord broke away from the ship's wheel and bolted for the mast, just as Galvel pulled up his crossbow and fired, aiming in a split-second. His shot took the marksman down.  
"Get ready to jump" Galvel ordered. "This ship's not safe"  
"You're telling me…" Lithnilian said nervously, but Galvel was already racing for the ship's stern.  
"Milie! Get over here!" he shouted as he ran. Harlin and Jorger, and most of the crew in fact, were desperately trying to de-rig the smouldering mainsail – flames had already consumed most of its height.  
I decided it would be best for me to keep my head down, and ducked down on the lowered section of decking in the ship's centre. Lithnilian joined me.  
"Who are they?" I asked him over the noise of the chaos. "Crusaders?"  
Lithnilian shook his head. "No. Worse, I think…"  
He was interrupted by the repeated sound of wood splintering and Harlin desperately racing towards the stern, a spear in his hand. "They're bringing the whole bloody ship down!"  
I watched what was happening behind us. More flaming arrows were arcing towards the ship, this time from the other clipper that was behind us. Galvel was right – it was no friend. Galvel was firing as fast as he could load the crossbow, trying to take down the marksmen.  
"We need to bring the ship down somehow…" he said to himself.  
"You know, I could really use some of that ambient magicka right now" Milie said. Galvel rummaged around in a pouch on his belt and produced a perfectly cut, cyan piece of glowing glass – a Welkynd stone – and passed it to Milie. As soon as Milie held the stone with any sort of conviction, it simply crumbled to grey dust in her hands, passing its soft blue glow onto Milie. Almost unable to control the magicka, she hurled a bolt of lightning at the other ship, striking its bow just above the waterline. The waters of the bow wave created by the ship began to flood through the hole the lightning bolt had punched in its hull. The ship slowed, its bow angling downwards.  
"Nice" Galvel said, genuinely impressed.  
"You lot! Get off this ship!" Harlin shouted at us. Himself and Jorger had cut the mainsail free and sent it tumbling down into the water, a burning wreck. By now the Flying Fish had lost all its speed and was floundering in the water. On the other ship, a score of people were leaping off its sides, into dinghies, bound for the shore. The battle had just been taken to ground.  
With all the grace and élan of Ancius Carro staggering home from the Merchants' Inn, the Flying Fish ran aground on the island that the marksman had been hidden on. Harlin motioned us all over to a rope ladder which he threw over the side of the deck and we climbed down onto dry land, Galvel and his crossbow holding off anyone who tried to take pot shots at us. One of Harlin's crew, a Khajiit, took a hit to the shoulder and fell off the ladder, breaking his neck as he hit the ground. I wondered how many more lives this quest was going to claim.  
At the same time, the enemy dinghy reached the shore of another rocky island, two away from ours.  
"Make for land" Harlin called. "We're sitting ducks on this island!"

* * *

We ran around the northern shore of the island, keeping its rocky dome between us and whoever was attacking us, until we reached a series of stepping stones that led across to the muddy shore of the mainland. Once again, Galvel covered us as we crossed.  
Then, our fortunes changed. The others had no stepping stones to leave their island and had to wade through the shadows, fighting against the waves. Galvel and Lithnilian, and an archer in Harlin's crew, picked them off one by one.

* * *

We all collapsed in exhaustion on the shore.  
"Who were they?" Milie asked. "Crusaders?"  
"I don't think so," Lithnilian said. "The Crusaders are guerrilla fighters. That they ambushed us at the shrine was purely coincidence. This was a planned attack"  
"Another player," Galvel said. "But who? Who else can know about what we're doing, and be opposed to it?"  
"I don't know, but we'd better watch our backs from here" Harlin said. We all turned to look at him.  
"My destiny is with this quest, just like you. Me and my crew are under command of… whoever's in charge. What do we do now?"  
"We need to find Dubdilla" Lithnilian said. "I'm afraid I have no idea where it is…"  
"Zainab Camp" Galvel said firmly. Even I knew that name.  
"Ashlanders?" I asked.  
Galvel nodded. "They've become a lot more receptive to the civilised world since the Nerevarine. And the Nerevarine was another area where Ashlander and civilised Dunmer theologies overlapped – both had the same prophecy. Perhaps this is how they believed Vvardenfell would be 'rid of the Imperial outlanders'…"  
"You think the Nerevarine prophecy related to the Ashlanders, and the magicka?" Milie asked in awe.  
Galvel nodded. "Every race has a legend about how the world will end… I worked it out on the ship before we got attacked"  
Galvel produced a page in his journal on which he had scribbled a few lines:

_Ashlander and Dunmer prophecy – Dubdilla is 'World's End'_  
_Imperial theology – 'Lock and key' line_  
_Lorkhan and World's End – appears in both races' lore_  
_Lock is in Morrowind, key in Cyrodiil_

"That last line" I said. "Do you know where the key came from, then?"  
Galvel nodded. "I thought it of little significance until recently. I saw it written on the wall in the Crusaders' stronghold. It was found in the catacombs beneath White Gold Tower, in the tomb of an Ayleid king"  
"Another connection to the Ayleids…" Milie added.  
"But how does this answer the question of who attacked us?" Harlin asked.  
"Ah!" Lithnilian chirped. "There's one crucial group we've been ignoring – the Daedra worshippers. In a remarkable twist on what one would expect, there exists a splinter cell of worshippers who believe Molag Bal to be the Almighty, but do not necessarily agree with his practices – Yggskard was one of those, I believe"  
"They see World's End as the greatest shrine of them all to Molag Bal," Galvel added. "And somehow they have got wind that we plan to desecrate it. That's why they're after us"  
I gazed across the Grazelands.  
"Dubdilla lies out there somewhere," I said. "That's where it all comes together"  
Then, Harlin began to gather up what was left of his crew. "Jorger, see if you can rig up another sail from the supplies in the hold. I'm not leaving my good ship bobbing around in these waters waiting for a rock to tear through its hull. Lithie, gentlemen, lady, I don't like to abandon you, but I want to get my ship back to a harbour where she can be repaired…"  
Lithnilian nodded. "We understand, Harlin. You've done your part in getting us here. Look after yourself"  
"You too" Harlin said, patting Lithnilian roughly on the shoulder. "Don't do anything stupid. That goes for all of you!"  
"What are we going to do?" Milie asked.  
Galvel nodded in what I presumed was the rough direction of the Zainab camp. "What we came here to do – find World's End"


	14. Just As Was Told

_The Temple of St. Delyn, Vivec City_

"And just as was told in the Thirty-Second Sermon of Vivec. 'The pleasure of annihilation is the pleasure of disappearing into the unreal'. Just as was told the world will be destroyed. Just as was told we will be taken to a place, a place of never-ending white where nothing is as we know it.  
The Eight-and-One's spirits shall be unleashed. The Imperial effigies, not the true gods of the Almsivi, shall be the ones to bring destruction. The last of the world is the Eight-and-One.  
He shall come to Morrowind, just as was told.  
He shall come from simple beginnings, just as was told.  
He shall come from a journey of discovery and loss, just as was told.  
He shall come to Vvardenfell, where he will find World's End, just as was told.  
In the deepest depths  
Of the deepest canyon  
Of the deepest cave  
Where Daedra roam  
In the plains of the northern isle  
Of the Dark Province  
It is here where he will find World's End  
He shall join Nerevarine and Hortator, Ashlander and nobility, just as was told.  
And as he steps into World's End he will face a great journey.  
The path to World's End is straight and unbending.  
It takes strength. It takes courage. It takes determination. It takes friends and foes alike to navigate the tunnels of end-times and find the Great Tower.  
He shall climb the Great Tower, just as was told.  
He will have with him a key and at the top of the Great Tower he will find a lock. The key is the dagger he will hold to the throat of the world.  
The road from World's End is long and unbending, leading ever into the storm. When the storm comes it will be a beautiful fountain of light radiating forth from the very bowels of Nirn itself.  
Then there will be nothing but blackness.  
Then there will be an end to all things, just as was told"

_The Chapel of Talos, Bruma_

"This is the story of a simple man, happy in life, earning a living the honest way, when the Nine appeared before him, and said to him, when the Daedric warlords start forging their Daedric weapons, singing their Daedric songs as they march into battle, what are you going to do to save the Empire? Are you going to let them take it over, or are you going to rob them of the opportunity to vanquish this green and pleasant land…  
"…The Gods said, 'Have you learned nothing of what was told? The Daedra are at the centre of World's End!'…  
"…Just as was told, justice will unfold.  
Just as was told, justice will unfold.  
Just as was told, justice will unfold.  
Just as was told, justice will unfold.  
Just as was told, justice will unfold.  
Just as was told, justice will unfold"


	15. Revelator

It only took an hour or so of walking until we could see the Zainab camp, and thankfully the mysterious band of Daedric zealots who had attacked the Flying Fish were nowhere to be seen. We could see the camp as a collection of black, dome-shaped yurts surrounding a smaller circle of huts, covered in a large fabric awning. The midday sun was throwing up a haze which shrouded the camp, making it look like some strange lost village in the wilderness.  
"Hopefully they'll see one of their kin in our group and be receptive to us," Galvel explained. "Erris, try not to rub your Imperialism in their faces too much"  
"Were you concerned I would?" I asked genuinely.  
"I'm just saying. They can be a strange bunch, tied to ancient customs. Most Ashlanders still genuinely believe the Dark Elves to be the dominant race of Tamriel"  
Lithnilian stifled a laugh. "Every damn Dunmer I've ever met thinks that…"  
"It's laugh a minute with you three, isn't it?" Milie said with a hint of exasperation.

* * *

As we neared the camp, we saw a Dunmer man tending to a small patch of vegetables growing just outside the camp. He noticed us and said a gruff "Afternoon" to us.  
"My friend, we seek council with your Ashkhan" Galvel said, referring to the leader of the Zainab tribe.  
The Dunmer put his hoe down and straightened his posture. "You're welcome to try, but I doubt you'll get much out of him. He's getting on a bit, you know, he's a bit muttoned. I think that pretty Telvanni girl he married is wearing him out…"  
"The Ashkhan remarried?" Galvel asked. The Dunmer flashed a toothless grin.  
"You know your history, brother. Of course, the girl that the Nerevarine found him was just a dolled-up peasant, not of Telvanni blood. I see you've got your head screwed on right. And you, you're a gardener, like me, aren't you?"  
"Me?" I asked. "How did you know?"  
"Sixth sense" the Dunmer replied. "Anyway, what's your business with the Ashkhan?"  
"We wish to discuss the World's End legend with him" Lithnilian said.  
The Dunmer nodded slowly. "Go and see the Wise Woman. She is fascinated by the myth. But she doesn't like chatter, so cut to the chase"  
"Thank you, friend" Galvel said as the Dunmer indicated in the direction of the Wise Woman's yurt. We couldn't help but notice that it was away from the covered circle of huts where the Ashkhan and his men lived.  
"There has always been a power struggle in Ashlander tribes, between the Ashkhan and the Wise Woman" Galvel explained as we walked. "And often it is the Wise Woman who wields the true power. 'Knowledge is power' – are you familiar with that phrase?"

* * *

Cautiously, the four of us entered the Wise Woman's yurt, with our very own Dunmer diplomat Galvel leading the way. The elderly Dunmer woman was hunched over a table, surrounded by alchemical ingredients. She turned around as we entered.  
"Yes, travellers? Can I help you?"  
Galvel briefly hesitated before he spoke. "We are nearing the end of a very long trail. We are looking for World's End"  
The Wise Woman stood and turned to face us. "When I became the Wise Woman of this tribe, the Ashkhan told me that we were near world's end. For years, I have not known what he meant. I too know that the cave of Dubdilla is nearby, but I have always worried that he meant what he said literally. Perhaps Tamriel's days are numbered"  
I fumbled around, pulling out the golden key from around my neck. "We found this in Cyrodiil, in the hands of a religious group. We believe it is the key to World's End"  
"It exists…" the Wise Woman gasped. "I have been to Dubdilla only once. I heard the legend, like you, that somewhere in there is a keyhole. But the going was too treacherous. I turned back"  
"You know where the cave is?" Lithnilian asked, as if he thought it too good to be true.  
"Yes. In fact, Altmer, I helped another one of your kin find it. We searched the Grazelands together, going only on some very vague accounts – strange lights emanating from the ground, tales of impassable networks of tunnels. We found it. We very nearly became lost in the tunnels, which is when I decided to return to the Zainab camp. But the Altmer woman said she was going to stay there, and uncover Dubdilla's secrets"  
"We think we know what is there," Milie said.  
The Wise Woman looked at all four of us, taking us all in. "Tell me everything you know"  
Galvel did just that – from the Wayshrines to Bramblepoint Cave, to the involvement of the Holy Crusaders and the discovery of naturally-growing Welkynd glass – the solid embodiment of magicka. He told her about our meeting with Yggskard and Lithnilian high up in the Valus mountains, and the revelation of how this mythical cave, where the very essence of creation could be undone, seemed to appear in every religious pantheon and folklore found in Tamriel, stressing that this included both the Tribunal and Ashlander sects.  
"What do you intend to do if you find the keyhole?" the Wise Woman asked eventually.  
"All we are trying to do is find out whether it exists," Galvel said. "That is the goal of our quest. If we do find it, something must be done. It is too powerful a source of energy to remain unregulated…"  
"I don't know if the civilised world believes in fate anymore, Galvel Othrelos, but the Ashlanders do. We knew that one day, as was prophecised, the Nerevarine would rise to become the saviour of Vvardenfell. Just as, one day, the Anti-Creation will walk the Grazelands"  
"Anti-Creation?" I asked. In an instant, I recalled mine and Galvel's conversation in my house in the Imperial City, what seemed like months ago. Everything we knew was no more than magicka, and liberating it would not just be a release of energy, it would undo the very fabric of reality. Destruction – the Anti-Creation.  
The Wise Woman did not answer my question. "Whatever happens, happens. On a more practical note, I have thought for many years of returning to Dubdilla for a more extended expedition. And now you four have arrived, maybe now is the time. We shall depart at dawn tomorrow"  
"Thank you, my lady," Lithnilian said as we began to depart from the yurt.  
"Erris, I must speak with you," the Wise Woman said suddenly. We all froze in our tracks. What did she want? "The rest of you will find our hospitality very accommodating"  
Nervously, I watched the other three depart the tent. The Wise Woman waited until they were far gone and out before speaking.  
"I know an adventurer when I see one, Erris," she said. "But I do not see one in you. What is your purpose here?"  
"Well… I started this quest. Me and a friend, but he has not made it this far…"  
"Curiosity is something that may fuel the adventurer, or the scholar, but why did an honest labourer like you embark upon a scientific expedition to determine the nature of magicka?"  
At that moment, I remembered something. Something that happened the night before the day that Ancius had showed me that first Wayshrine, the one in the West Weald.  
"I had a dream. I could see nothing, but I knew I was consciously seeing nothing. Nothing but inky blackness. I think I saw the end of the world – what would happen if all the magicka were released. I have had other dreams too – one where I saw the magicka erupting from the ground everywhere"  
"Then the day is upon us," the Wise Woman said softly. "It is just as was told. World's End is here. I thought it might be the case when I heard your story"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Erris, I think you are the one who is prophecised to find the lock for the key which you carry. You are the Anti-Creation"  
My heart stopped. I was speechless. My destiny was to end the world?  
"But it may of course just be harmless superstition. Like your friends, I think we should first determine whether this doomsday device exists. We shall still travel to Dubdilla tomorrow"  
I still said nothing.  
"When you picked up the key from the Holy Crusaders' fortress, it was a gut reaction, was it not? Galvel said you saw the key and grabbed it without thinking. Something deep inside you told you that you needed that key. Come with me, and find your friends. I have something to show you"  
I could not believe what I was hearing. My subconscious was wired to end the world, and it had directed me to search for Wayshrines with Ancius, to take the key, and what else? To take the gardening contract at the Arcane University so I overheard that lecture that sparked my interest? My mind was spinning as I followed the Wise Woman out of the yurt. The other three were sat around a campfire on which a couple of cast-iron pots were cooking, chatting idly to some of the Ashlanders. They all turned to look at us. Milie stood up.  
"Erris, you look like you've seen a ghost…"  
"You couldn't possibly imagine" is all I managed to reply with. The Wise Woman beckoned Milie, Lithnilian and Galvel to follow us into one of the yurts in the Ashkhan's circle.  
I could not believe my eyes when I saw who was inside the yurt, sat around a small fire. A wiry Redguard and a tall, auburn-haired Altmer. More specifically, it was Helecan and Althren – Althren, who I had last seen be killed after being struck by an arrow from one of the Holy Crusader agents…  
"You're alive!" Milie cried in delight, running over and embracing him.  
"Yes, you are," Galvel said. "But how?"  
"I wreaked havoc with the armoury at the Crusaders' fortress," Helecan explained. "Tipped all their arrows with langourwine"  
"It's a poison," Galvel explained. "Very unique – it mimics the effects of death, but the victim can make a full recovery if administered with an antidote, which is actually a very simple potion made from plants native to almost all parts of Tamriel"  
He shot a sideways glance at Helecan before continuing. "Some of the more shady organisations in Tamriel swear by it"  
Helecan held up his hands. "Sorry I couldn't revive Althren there and then. And I am truly sorry for the grief it caused you. I know he is your friend. But I didn't know if any of the Crusaders were out there still. If they saw that I'd poisoned their arrows with langourwine, we'd have been fucked"  
"This doesn't make sense," I said. "Why are you and Althren here?"  
"Helecan believes I am needed to get into World's End," Althren croaked. Evidently he was yet to make the full recovery that Galvel had promised – there was a walking stick resting on the ground next to him. "I'm afraid I don't know what he means"  
As soon as everyone was over the shock of seeing Althren alive, things reverted to normality. Lithnilian, Galvel and Milie began talking about everything they had learned since Althren's 'death', and soon a full scientific debate was raging again. I stepped out of the yurt. Helecan made to follow me, but decided against it. My head was still spinning. I, Erris Spires, gardener and musician, was the one prophecised to end the world. I had been wondering for some time if it really was some ancient subconscious force unique to me that had brought me this far on the journey, or if it was still a mere journey of discovery and curiosity. Was it my choice to destroy everything that we knew? It was not something I could believe. I was not an evil man. I had never acted maliciously to another person in my life…  
"Erris, are you alright?" a soft voice said from behind me, snapping me back into reality. It was Milie. "You haven't spoken much since we arrived at the camp. I know something's troubling you"  
"I'm fine," I said. It was a pretty unconvincing lie.  
"What did the Wise Woman tell you?" Milie said, looking me in the eye.  
I told her.  
Neither of us spoke after that. We just stood next to each other, in the middle of the camp, gazing out across the Grazelands towards where Dubdilla was.  
"Tomorrow, we travel to Dubdilla and uncover its secrets," Milie said at last. "After tomorrow, it will all be over"  
"How?" I asked incredulously. "Even if the key and the lock never meet, if we don't find World's End in Dubdilla, how can we go back to a normal life, especially after everything we've been through? How can we go back to work knowing that hidden in a cave in Morrowind, hidden in every culture's lore, is a device that can totally destroy reality? How can I not be expected to change, knowing I have the power to cause the end of the world?"  
Milie placed a finger on my lips to silence me. Then, she did something I didn't see coming. She wrapped her arms around me, closed her eyes and passionately kissed me. It felt electrifying. I kissed her back.  
Then it all made sense. It was true. Just as I saw in the dream, Milie loved me. And I realised I loved her too. Just as was told.  
It was I – I had to turn the key and end the world.


	16. There Is A Kingdom

That night, I had a dream that I had seen before, a very long time ago. I knew I was dreaming, but I saw, heard or felt nothing. I floated in a nether-world, witnessing a Mundus with nothing in it. The end of reality as we knew it.

_When a good man ends the world, the Daedra will run and hide_  
_When he turns the key, but he doesn't know why_  
_When hopes and fears, good and evil all unfurl_  
_When a good man ends the world_

I still didn't talk as we walked across the undulating grasslands towards Dubdilla the next morning. Milie held my hand. Galvel stood at my side all the time, ever vigilant.  
"What are you going to do, Erris?" Galvel asked eventually. I had told him early that morning of the prophecy and my part in it. I had formed a strong bond with the Dunmer soldier – I may have loved Milie, but if I could have chosen one person to remain on this quest with me, it would have been Galvel Othrelos.  
"What do you mean?" I replied.  
"If you find the keyhole. You know what you are supposed to do, but will you do it? Will you obey the prophecy or prove the concept of free will?"  
"I don't want to find out," I said, taking the loop of chain suspending the key from around my neck and handing it to Galvel. He stopped dead in his tracks.  
"What are you doing?"  
"I cannot place that key in the lock and end the world if I do not have the key," I explained. "Nor do I want it to fall into the wrong hands, but I trust you to safeguard it"  
Galvel looped the keychain around his neck. "I'll do my best"

* * *

It wasn't long before the entourage arrived at the entrance to Dubdilla. It was actually a pretty nondescript cave, its opening partially hidden in a cleft between two large boulders. I wondered how many adventurers had wandered past it, having no idea what lay inside.  
The Wise Woman approached the door. From the Zainab Camp, only she had come with us. Althren, Helecan, Milie, Lithnilian and Galvel all watched with caution. I had other things on my mind.  
It was something of an anticlimax when the Wise Woman pushed open the door, revealing a narrow, dank tunnel beyond it.  
"Daedra may still lurk within these tunnels," the Wise Woman warned. Galvel and Helecan decided to lead.  
The tunnel wound around and downwards, leading into the bowels of Nirn, closer to the primordial magicka. Galvel had explained to me that we were already at one of the lowest points in Vvardenfell - I wondered, since we were near the coast, how long it would be until we hit water.  
Eventually, we reached a crossroads. Galvel stopped and looked around.  
"In here. Look!"  
He ran down the northerly path at the crossroads, our left. It emerged in a small sphere-shaped cavern with a rotting scaffold-like structure built along one wall. A ladder that had seen better days led up to it - Galvel attempted to climb it, but the first rung of the ladder snapped as soon as he rested his weight on it.  
"I think I can get up the wall there," he said.  
"Leave it, Galvel," Althren barked. "We don't have time for exploring"  
"We have all the time in the world," Galvel snapped back. "If someone built a wooden structure in here don't you think it might have had a purpose?"  
I agreed with Galvel. The pair of us approached the wall nearest to one side of the scaffolding. Galvel skilfully free-climbed up it, using outcrops as handholds, before he jumped to one side and gripped the top floor of the structure with both hands, pulling himself up. As soon as he did, he did a double-take in surprise.  
"What is it?" Althren asked.  
"Someone else has been in here," Galvel replied. "And not too many years ago either, by the looks of it"  
By now, curiosity had got the better of Lithnilian and he was now also climbing up the wall. Galvel offered a hand and pulled him up.  
"Oh my - Cumanya..." he gasped. I had to see what they were talking about.  
On the wooden platform, I saw, was a dead skeletal body, the shaft of a crossbow bolt jutting horridly from its forehead.  
"Cumanya was my partner when I was researching World's End in Vvardenfell before I returned to Cyrodiil," Lithnilian said shakily. "I lost touch with her after the Crusaders found me..."  
"How do you know it's her?" Galvel asked.  
"Because I was with her when she found that map," Lithnilian said, pointing at a faded scroll pinned to the wall. It seemed to detail the layout of a cave system of some sort - I guessed it to be a map of whatever lay further into Dubdilla.  
"We found it in a Dwarven ruin just northeast of here," Lithnilian continued. "Next to it was a book filled with Dwarven runes and diagrams that seemed to detail how solid matter might be transformed into magicka, and back"  
"So the Dwarves knew about World's End too?" Galvel asked.  
"It figures," Helecan replied. "Guess they didn't want to feel left out"  
"Fate pointing us in the right direction again..." Milie said to herself, but I heard her clearly.  
"Are you ready to move on, Lithnilian?" I said. "We understand if you want more time"  
"No, let's go," Lithnilian replied. He had been leafing through a pile of old-looking books on a desk on the wooden platform, most of them seeming to be concerning the real, physical side of the World's End myth. Clearly Cumanya had been a scientist, while Lithnilian was the historian. "For years I have strived to discover what lies further into this cave"

* * *

We soon discovered that the path further into Dubdilla was the path from the crossroads that led straight ahead from where we had come in.  
The path to World's End is straight and unbending.  
"Someone killed Cumanya," I said discreetly to Galvel as we walked.  
"I know," he replied. "I expect they knew exactly what they were coming in here to do and left pretty quickly. Even so, keep your eyes peeled"  
It takes friends and foes alike to navigate the tunnels of end-times and find the Great Tower.  
The tunnel turned through an S-bend, descending even further into the bowels of the world, before it ended abruptly at a crude wooden gate. It was locked, but Helecan simply delivered a powerful kick to the lock, ripping it clean off the wall.  
We all looked through the opening.  
"This is where even the hardiest adventurers falter," the Zainab Wise Woman said. Beyond the door, the tunnel was cut by a wide, deep canyon. The sound of water dripping echoed through it. As I stepped in, I saw that the bottom of the canyon was flooded, and if one were to fall in there seemed to be no means of escape. To hammer the point home were the skeletal corpses of several unfortunate souls slumped on the bed of the canyon, visible through the water. They had died in the worst way - left to drown in the icy waters with no hope of salvation.  
"Looks like whoever was in here last didn't fancy a climb" Althren remarked. He was right - attached to the ceiling via a grappling hook snagged around a stalactite was a length of rope. Milie used telekinesis to pull the rope to our end of the canyon and Galvel grabbed onto it. He launched himself across the canyon gracefully, sweeping in a pendulum-like swing across the canyon before his boots landed in the tunnel on the other side.  
"Easy!" he called back. "Who wants to go next?"  
We all looked nervously at each other, before Galvel threw the rope back across the canyon and Lithnilian caught it.

* * *

Eventually, we had all crossed the canyon without incident. As we did so, Galvel had been examining the map he had found in Cumanya's dwellings.  
"It looks like we just carry on in a straight line," Galvel explained. "Any side passages just lead to a bunch of dead ends"  
"I thought you said people always got lost down here?" Althren remarked.  
"Adventurers often forget that the most direct path is a straight line," the Wise Woman replied with a shrug.  
The path to World's End is straight and unbending.  
Soon we came to another canyon with no visible means of crossing it, so Milie and Althren went back and retrieved the grappling hook. While they had gone, there was a good deal of speculation about where it had come from.  
"Rope doesn't last for long, especially in damp conditions," I said. "Whoever put it there must have been the same people that killed Cumanya. But why did they come further in?"  
"I guess they were looking for something," Helecan said dryly.  
"Or someone," Lithnilian added.  
"You have told me of several factions who accept the World's End myth but do not wish it uncovered," the Wise Woman said. "And those factions are willing to kill to protect that secret"  
"They're trying to protect something that they are not even sure exists?" I asked.  
The Wise Woman nodded once, but said nothing. A few seconds later, Milie and Althren returned with the rope, and we used it to cross the canyon. On the other side, we had barely made twenty yards when we came to yet another flooded ravine.  
"Look!" Lithnilian gasped, pointing across the ravine. The tunnel on the other side was not like the one we had emerged from. It was much taller and wider, square in section, and clearly carved by man. Furthermore, it was surrounded with an arch constructed in the cubist masonic style of Daedric shrines, forged from a deep purple stone with immaculate figuring carved into it. But even more remarkable was what lay beyond it - the tunnel soon rounded a corner, and from that corner, bright, dazzling white light radiated. Primordial light.  
"By the Gods, we've found it..." I said reverently.  
"Anyone who can handle a weapon is coming first with me," Galvel ordered. "If it's going to get ugly in here, this is the place for it to happen"  
"I've got you covered," Althren said. He raised his hands slightly, and once again I noticed sparks periodically arcing between his fingertips.  
Galvel swung out across the canyon and landed on the other side. Helecan and Althren went next, then me and Milie, the Wise Woman, and Lithnilian last of all. Again, Galvel had gone ahead to scout.  
He came back with, for the first time that I had seen, a rather worried look on his face. He pointed behind him - just before the corner were the bodies of two men. White, decaying flesh still clung to their skeletons. Matching arrows protruded from the backs of their necks - they had been executed. The sight was both grotesque and unnerving.  
"These bodies are not old," Althren said. I thought it was quite an obvious observation. "Someone's been in here recently"  
I ignored the others. I had to see what was round the corner, where the light was coming from. Galvel tried to stop me, but it was too late.  
'Disappointment' is not a phrase I use lightly, but the source of the light turned out to be nothing more than a lantern containing what looked like Welkynd glass, glowing brightly and diffused and intensified through a series of large glass lenses. Beyond it, though, was another grand Daedric arch with a firmly locked door in its centre.  
"I feel this is where you come in, Althren" Helecan said. "Unless anyone else can figure out a way to get this door open?"  
He had a point. I looked at the dust sitting on the carvings on the door - it hadn't moved for aeons. After a couple of minutes of searching for any means to get the huge Daedric door to budge, one by one we all turned to Helecan to look for an explanation.  
"That amulet around your neck," Helecan said, nodding at Althren. "Where did you get it from?"  
"This?" Althren said in mild surprise, removing the obsidian amulet. "My father gave it to me when I joined the Mages' Guild. It doesn't have any enchantments or anything, I just... well, I like it"  
Althren examined the amulet in his hands, and stopped at a small carving on it, as though he had just noticed it for the first time.  
"What is it?" I asked. I could just about make out a small Daedric rune, inlaid in gold in the middle of the black.  
"This is the Daedric symbol for the letter L, but there's a cross through it"  
He didn't need to explain further. L stood for Lorkhan. The cross for anti-Lorkhan. Anti-Creation.  
"Go on then. How did you know?" Milie asked, turning to Helecan.  
"The Crusaders have been at work on this for a long, long time," Helecan explained. "Part of me thinks that they were the people who came in here, killed Cumanya and these two explorers, and left that rope behind. They couldn't get any further than this. My guess is that as soon as they reported this back to the stronghold, their researchers went into overdrive. Soon I heard them talking about a bloodline, one whose most current member is Magister Althren here"  
"I thought you said the Crusaders hadn't worked out the significance of Dubdilla yet?" Milie asked.  
Helecan held up his hands. "Maybe I was wrong. It wasn't easy getting information out of them"  
Lithnilian was gazing up at the door. "Its architecture is identical to the Daedric shrines found around Morrowind. It must have been built at the same period in history as them - probably early in the Third Era, I'm guessing"  
"Someone else found it," Galvel said flatly.  
"And they didn't want anyone else getting in," Lithnilian agreed. "So, they placed an unlockable door in front of it. I'm guessing the head architect must have been a distant ancestor of Althren's"  
"This doesn't help us get past this door though," Althren remarked.  
"Yes it does!" Lithnilian said suddenly. "Althren, bring that amulet over here!"  
Althren obliged. Lithnilian was running his fingers over a small void in the centre of the door, shaped like one half of an egg. We all saw Lithnilian's train of thought immediately.  
"You never know if you don't try," Althren said. He placed his amulet in the hole, and some unseen mechanism clasped around it, holding it in place.  
A loud roar emanated from somewhere above and slowly but purposefully the door receded upwards into the ceiling.  
We all ventured through the doorway. What we saw took our breath away.  
The tower was the first thing we noticed.  
He shall climb the Great Tower, just as was told  
It was cylindrical, at least thirty yards across, made of a pale grey stone and it lofted upwards. A winding path led up its flanks in a convoluted route. At the top, it culminated in a cone-shaped spire, the stepped path continuing up in a spiral around the peak. Beyond that, it looked old. Older than anything I had ever seen in my life. Impossibly ancient, dating back to the dawn of existence.  
Then, we took in the cavern that the tower was situated in. During the quest I had seen the ancient catacombs beneath White Gold Tower, the huge Bramblepoint cavern and the flooded ravines of Dubdilla, but they all paled in comparison to this. The cavern was cylindrical, just like the tower but much, much wider. From the Daedric door, a stone bridge crossed over to the tower, but beyond that, both the tower and the cavern simply plummeted downwards to unseen depths.  
Milie magically illuminated the pit, and further down we could see the tower held up by a network of metal buttresses but the abyss just kept on going, far below the range of Milie's light. For all I knew, it went all the way to the centre of Nirn.  
"Ten drakes says the keyhole's at the top of the tower," Galvel remarked, finally breaking the silence.  
"The path up there doesn't look easy," Helecan added. "You've got to be pretty determined to reach the top"  
"I'm going up there," I said, without even thinking first. "I've come this far..."  
"Erris is right," Milie said. "Whatever we came here to find, it's at the top of that trail"  
"I have done all I can," Lithnilian said. "I have found the cave that the myths call World's End. I have done all I set out to do"  
Helecan turned and exchanged a glance with the Wise Woman.  
"Myself and Helecan needed only to bring Althren to this door so he could open it," the Wise Woman said. "We owe you no more"  
"Somebody needs to stay down here on guard duty," Helecan added.  
"I feel my role in this quest is also at an end," Althren said, slipping his amulet back around his neck.  
This left Galvel. I turned to look at him expectantly.  
"We have come this far together and you have always kept me from danger," I said to him. I gave him a small nod that indicated what else I had to say to him. He had the key. "This tower is a test - only the worthy can reach its summit"  
"Yeah, only the worthy," Galvel said, stifling a laugh. "Lithnilian, if it looks like we get in trouble, any help would be appreciated. You handled yourself pretty well back in the Crusaders' stronghold"  
Lithnilian stifled a laugh. "I fear I may disappoint you"


	17. Erris' Vision Of World's End

Many years after this story was told, I wondered something that had only just occurred to me. Why? Why all the new-found interest in World's End? Why are the Crusaders, the Mages' Guild, Daedra worshippers and Ashlanders alike all suddenly awakening to the myth? But this is one question to which I knew the answer.

* * *

Morrowind burns, and there's nobody to put out the fires. Red Mountain erupts, but there are none to flee from it. And a terrible evil awakes in the North. They call it the World-Eater, but there is no world for it to consume. And we're all hiding our homes, with the curtains closed and the lanterns put out. The sky was beautiful on fire, and statues of past glories leered down upon us.

* * *

It went like this - there was one power, ruling Tamriel. They gave their power to save their land during the ultimate crisis. When they lost their power, there was nobody to take the baton. They had no baton to pass on. When that happened, everyone wanted power, but no-one wanted anyone else to have power. We marched into war, or felled our foes with corruption. The economy collapsed. Evil ruled the lands. There was an end to all things.

* * *

It went like this - the Gods created us, then set us free. They rule over us, but they do not control us. We may do what we will. We may disobey them. The Gods are the Ultimate, but they gave us the free will to fight amongst ourselves to control the world they created. It is free will that ended the world. Would the Nine Divines allow acts of evil? Would the Nine Divines let their own creations harm each other? Maybe we destroyed ourselves with free will, or maybe the Gods struck us down for destroying one another with the freedom that we had been given. Because of free will there was an end to all things.

* * *

Perhaps there was once a prophecy. It was well-known, but the people did not like it. It told them they could not be free, or the world would end. There would come a time when the World-Ender would walk the Grazelands, and the Gods had put him there because all of their other creations were out of control because of their free will. So, like the Nerevarine prophecies of the same land, it was persecuted, buried into obscure lore and superstition. If we did not know that there would be an ultimate consequence to free will, we would still have our free will and think no more of it. And they would not know what had crept up on them when a dagger was held to the throat of the world.

* * *

Just as was told.

* * *

This is how the Nine Divines and their followers might have told the story. I, as a good Imperial citizen, would maybe have been inclined to agree. The Dunmer demi-god Vivec told of the destruction of the world in his Sermons, but nobody except me noticed.


	18. The Tower

"Ready?" Galvel asked. We had assembled ourselves at a small ramp cut into the flank of the huge, bizarre tower.  
"You'd better go first," I replied nervously. Galvel smiled.  
"No problem. Just keep an eye out for anything I might have missed"  
With that, Galvel Othrelos became the first person for aeons, possibly ever, to step onto the tower that led to World's End. As he did, I remembered something I had almost forgotten. I remembered that Galvel had the key - I had given it to him outside. He could easily reach the top of the tower on his own, and he didn't even need me to carry the key now. I could have bowed out at that point, knowing that I was completely out of my depth, but something made me follow him. Maybe it was fate, drawing me towards my destiny of ending the world, or maybe it was just boyish curiosity making me want to climb the tower.  
And so, I followed Galvel up the tower, a few steps behind him, and Milie diligently fell into line behind me.  
It didn't take us long to upset the tower. Galvel stepped on some sort of trigger stone and in a flash of light, a flame atronach appeared in front of him. But it had barely flashed into existence when Galvel fired his crossbow into its solar plexus at point-blank range.  
_Where Daedra roam_  
We had almost completed a circuit of the tower on the spiralling path when we beheld a truly bizarre sight.  
The path ended abruptly. It just fell away, all back to the bottom of the tower and the cavernous void that lay beneath it. The only other feature on the tower from this point was a wooden pole sticking horizontally out of it. Then, we noticed that there were many of these poles, arranged in two rings around the tower, separated by a height of about four feet.  
But that was it.  
"Round this side!" Lithnilian called to us from down below. "The path carries on. You'll have to climb round"  
Galvel stifled a laugh. "This should be fun"  
Then, he slung his crossbow onto his back and jumped up, grabbing onto the wooden pole nearest to him.  
None of us were prepared for what happened next.  
With a huge, earth-shaking groan, the entire tower began to rotate! But after a few seconds, we realised it was in fact two disc-shaped sections of the tower, each containing a ring of the wooden poles, that were spinning in opposite directions. It was a truly bizarre sight. Galvel reacted quickly, leaping cat-like up onto the wooden pole, perching on top of it and turning back to face myself and Milie.  
"Grab one of these poles!" Galvel called back as he began to slowly rotate out of view. "I'll help you at the other side!"  
With that, he leapt up and grabbed one of the poles on the second ring.  
I turned to Milie and kissed her on the lips, gently running my hand across her face.  
"Be careful, Erris," she said softly.  
I couldn't think of anything to say to Milie, so I just jumped up and grabbed onto one of the wooden poles as it passed above my head, and watch as the bizarre contraption slowly carried me away from Milie.  
I had seen what Galvel had done but didn't for a second think that I'd be able to do it - he had climbed up onto the pole he had been holding onto and perched on top of it.  
"Erris!"  
I heard him calling to me, then he came into view, hanging one-handed from one of the poles on the second row.  
"You're gonna have to jump!"  
"Bastard," I said under my breath. I knew I'd only have one go at this, so I went for it. With all my strength, I heaved myself upwards then threw up my right hand. Galvel gripped my wrist, and I let go of the pole. Displaying impressive strength, Galvel hauled me upwards so I could grab onto the same pole as him.  
"This is cosy, isn't it?" Galvel said dryly, inches away from my face. I couldn't resist it - I looked down, seeing Althren, Lithnilian, Helecan and the Wise Woman far below on the ground, and beneath that, the bottomless void beneath the tower.  
"It's beyond vertiginous, that's what it is" I replied eventually.  
"I'll say. Right, stay here!"  
"What?" I spluttered. Before I could object, Galvel swung his weight then leapt clean off the pole, grabbing onto the next one! He let his momentum carry him then did exactly the same thing again - presumably at some point in his past he had added the string of being a trapeze artist to his bow. I assumed he knew what he was doing and just held onto the pole for dear life - already, my arms felt like they were being torn from their sockets. By now, I'd done a complete circuit and saw Milie down below.  
"Hang in there!" she called up to me.  
"Not funny!" I shouted back.  
I made another half-circuit of the tower. I was in agony by the time I saw Galvel - he had swung almost all the way around the tower and jumped up onto the continuing path up its flanks. Once again, he held out his hand and I used my very last ounce of strength to jump up and into his grip. He helped me up onto the ledge.  
"Right, I'm going to go and get Milie. Wait here..."  
_"We've got incoming!"_  
It was the last thing any of us wanted to hear. Helecan shouted up from the floor of the tower as he emerged out of the tunnel that led into it, arrows peppering the ground behind him.  
"What the fuck..." Galvel began, unslinging his crossbow and peering through the eyepiece. I saw Althren and the Wise Woman hurling a volley of fireballs back out into the tunnel, as a Dremora wielding a wicked-looking mace materialised in front of Lithnilian and joined into the fray. Then, to my horror, I saw Helecan get flung backwards, his head snapped gruesomely back at an angle as an arrow thudded into his temple.  
"Lithie, get up here!" Galvel shouted. "I need cover!"  
Way down below, Lithnilian nodded. At that moment, our foes entered the cavern, hacking through Lithnilian's summoned Dremora. They all wore steel armour - identical steel armour - and wielded swords.  
"It's the Imperial Legion," I said in shock.  
"It is," Galvel replied. "But why?"  
"Probably because we're trying to end the world"  
"It's pretty serious for them to be killing all in their path"  
Down below, Althren summoned a mace and began parrying with two of the Legion soldiers, casting off spells with his left hand, but he was no match for them. I heard Milie cry in shock as one of them ran him through with his sword. This time, there would be no coming back from the dead for Althren.  
Then, the Wise Woman of the Zainab held up her hands in surrender, but the Legion men ignored the gesture and her life was ended in the same manner as Althren's.  
"Fuck me..." I said to myself. Lithnilian had only saved himself from the onslaught by racing up the tower towards Milie.  
It seemed that only then did the soldiers stop to briefly take in what they saw - the enormous, pipe-shaped cavern and the ancient tower, with its rotating middle sections. Galvel seized the opportunity and raced up the path until he had a clear line of fire, and quickly fired off a shot from his crossbow, striking down one of the Legion soldiers. But no sooner had he done so when an archer stepped into position, firing a flame-tipped arrow up at Galvel, forcing him to beat a retreat down the path.  
_"You have one chance and one chance only!"_ one of the soldiers called to us. I assumed he was the officer. _"Climb down from that tower immediately!"_  
"Don't," Galvel whispered. "They will kill us as soon as our feet touch the ground"  
"We wish only to see what is at the top of this tower!" I called down to them.  
_"You know what is there!"_ the officer shouted back. _"You mean to end the world, and we have orders to stop you!"_  
At that moment, Galvel nodded his head downwards slightly. I looked down, and saw Lithnilian standing on a lower section of the path, immediately beneath us.  
"I'm going back to get Milie," Galvel whispered to me. "Whatever you're going to do up there, do it quickly"  
With that, in one swift movement, Galvel retrieved the smouldering arrow that had been fired at him then used it to ignite the tip of his own crossbow bolt, and fired it back down at the Legion group. He missed the officer, but struck the man next to him right between the eyes. At the same time, a bolt of lightning blasted from Lithnilian's hands, striking the group's archer. Then, Galvel leapt back down onto the spinning poles.  
But then, just before he disappeared from view, he ripped something from around his neck and tossed it up onto the footpath.  
It was the key to World's End.  
I grabbed it and ran.  
With the battle raging below, I concentrated on nothing more than following the endlessly spiralling footpath.  
_He shall climb the Great Tower, just as was told_  
Then, it happened.  
I reached the top of the Great Tower.  
_Only the worthy._  
It was completely flat and featureless, save for one thing. An utterly precarious finger of rock, not even a foot wide, that led from the edge of the tower up a steep slope to the wall of the cavern. My eyes followed its path. And there it was.  
Set into the wall, at the end of the path, was a keyhole.  
It was surrounded by Daedric runes carved roughly into the wall. There was a lot written there. I cannot translate the Daedric language, but I could guess what the tone of the inscription was.  
_You have found World's End._  
I hadn't thought of this moment happening. It had seemed too far-fetched. I stood on the roof of the tower for a long time. I didn't know what to do. I had the key. I had found the lock. I was holding a dagger to the throat of the world.


	19. At World's End

Why should I end the world?  
I feel I have discussed this already. Mortal greed and fallibility are tearing apart an immortal creation. That is my belief. I had seen it. I had just witnessed my friends being killed by the Imperial Legion. The Imperial Legion is the army of the Empire, a bloodline that was begun by Tiber Septim, whose apotheosis turned him into Talos, the Ninth Divine. These men were doing God's bidding by killing people who had done nothing wrong. As members of the Arcane University, Milie, Galvel and Althren were even under the same Imperial umbrella as the Legion.  
The Imperial Legion wanted World's End for themselves. I knew it. If one controlled World's End, one controlled Tamriel, because one could threaten at any moment to destroy it. Maybe there would be peace in Tamriel again, but peace in the terms of one person.  
Why shouldn't I end the world?  
Because then I would be no better. I would claim the lives of many innocent people.  
But I had free will. It was entirely up to me whether or not I should end the world.  
Or was it? Such was the nature of the quest that had brought me this far, I don't think a mortal man could have come up with a series of events this unusual. Perhaps the Gods had laid out my path before me. Or perhaps the Daedra had done it. Or the Almsivi of Morrowind. I was, after all, the subject of a piece of ancient Dunmer folklore...  
_"Erris!"_  
Milie's voice snapped me out of my train of thought. She stumbled up onto the top of the tower.  
"They're not far behind! Some of them got past the poles!"  
"Where's Galvel? And Lithnilian?" I asked.  
"Galvel swung around the poles to get away from them. He's still fighting them. Lithnilian - he was waiting for Galvel to go back and help him up, and then..."  
I ran over to Milie and wrapped my arms around her. She did the same to me. "It's here," I whispered.  
Milie looked over my shoulder and saw the keyhole.  
"Milie," I said to her, looking her in her eyes. "A long time ago, I saw us both in a dream, and we were in love, just like we are now. I thought it was fate, and I doubted that our love was genuine. But I've realised that it has nothing to do with fate. I fell for you when I first set eyes on you"  
Then, I leaned forwards and kissed her. We didn't part. I knew it would be the last time I tasted the sweetness of her lips and felt the tenderness of her affection. I gently ran my hand down the small of her back, then gripped her hand in mine.  
"I'm going to the keyhole," I whispered to her. "I don't know what I'm going to do when I get there"  
We whispered a few more sweet nothings to each other, then I did just as I had told. I cautiously climbed the rocky bridge, and stood before the keyhole. And I didn't know what to do.  
"Erris!" Milie cried. In a horrifying instant, I turned around and realised that I had hesitated too long. The Legion officer had reached the top of the tower. He ran up to Milie and shoved her roughly to the ground, then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to her feet. She cried in agony. I couldn't bear to watch.  
"Leave her alone!" I shouted, holding the key up for the brute to see. He was a stocky man, maybe even considered fat, with a scruffy beard and a look that could only have come from a lifetime of frowning at people. A standard Legion officer, a very long way up his own backside.  
"Or what?" he snarled, slapping Milie roughly around the face. Even from where I was, I could see blood trickling from her nose. Then, he threw her to the floor again. I heard the sickening crack of breaking bone, and saw Milie's face creased in pain.  
"Erris, help!" she cried.  
I wanted to, but I couldn't. I couldn't fight an armed and armoured Legion officer. I couldn't even deal with a drunken Ancius Carro disagreeing with my opinion. But then, the officer looked straight at me. I moved my right hand, holding the key, towards the lock.  
"Put it down or I'll kill her!" the brute barked.  
"Kill her and I'll end the world," I replied. "Your call"  
But then, the officer kicked Milie in the head, hard. It knocked her out cold. Out of nothing but sheer spite, he kicked her again in the midriff.  
"Get away from her!" I shouted. I placed the key inside the keyhole.  
"Take that key out or your girl dies before your eyes!" the officer shouted as he drew his sword. It was the last action he ever took. He was flung forwards, his neck snapping, as he toppled to the ground with a crossbow bolt protruding from the back of his neck. It was Galvel. I had never been so glad to see anyone in my life. I took my hand off the key and bolted to the tower.  
"There's more coming!" Galvel called to me. "I got all the bastards on the tower but there's another twenty just come out of the tunnel! I can't fight that many! What are we going to do?"  
I ignored him and fell down by Milie's side. She was barely alive. I gripped her hand with both of mine and felt a single tear roll down my cheek.  
"They did this to her..." I said shakily. "I should have just surrendered"  
Galvel took a deep breath. "No, you shouldn't. The Wise Woman tried to surrender. Lithnilian tried to surrender. Look what happened to them. Erris, I'm afraid I can't see us leaving this cave alive. The question is whether or not you decide to take everyone else with you"  
At that moment, the entire tower began to vibrate as regimented bootfalls began to climb its flanks.  
"The Holy Crusaders, the Legion, they're all doing the Gods' bidding," I thought out loud. "And the Gods built World's End in case Mundus fell into the wrong hands. I'm trying to convince myself that it has"  
I gripped Milie's hand tighter, praying to every deity that I could muster that she would wake up, but something felt wrong. I realised her pulse had stopped.  
"She's gone..." I whispered to myself, struggling to hold back more tears. "Then my mind is made up. Galvel, you've been a good friend. I'm really sorry I have to do this"  
"I wouldn't do it myself but I understand," Galvel said, helping me to my feet. I shook his hand, then hesitated for a few seconds before embracing him. If there had been more Galvel Othreloses in the world, things may have turned out very differently.  
Before I went any further, I said some prayers. I had never done it before, but this seemed a good time to make contact with the Divines. First, I apologised for what I was about to do. Then I cursed them for letting one of their devout followers murder Milie.  
I crossed the tower, just as was told.  
I climbed back up to the bridge, just as was told.  
Galvel stood next to Milie, watching me intently, just was was told.  
The Legion death squad gained height quickly, just as was told.  
I reached the keyhole, just as was told.  
I turned the key.


	20. Calm After The Storm

_"It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine" - REM_

It's true what was told, that the world ended that day. Everyone knows it did, everyone knew it would, and all the signs pointed to it, just as was told. The last thing anyone remembers is white light. It started at the bottom of the pit beneath World's End and spread and spread and spread. We fell into it, like a daydream or a fever, disappeared into the unreal. And nobody can tell you anything after that. Just as was told, I had found the place called World's End, and in it I had found the end of the world. That's it - Mundus is gone, forever.

I often think about what could have happened, or not happened. What if I'd turned the key and nothing had happened? This is what happened when the world didn't end that day.

Myself and Galvel surrendered immediately. The Legion saw that there was no immediate threat to their lives and took us captive instead of killing us.

We were in prison for a while - I don't know how long. Listen - this is what I heard from the guards and the other prisoners. The officer was charged with the murder of Milie and thrown deeper into the dungeon than we were. Some of the other soldiers were imprisoned too, for killing those who had surrendered to them.

I got out eventually, and I didn't really know what to do with myself. I didn't want to go back into gardening again - it had got me into far too much trouble. I stayed good friends with Galvel - he went straight back into the Battlemages, and I met him for a pint at the end of his shift pretty much every day. But soon the money began to run low, so I broke out my fiddle. First I played on the streets, then I worked my way into a few taverns. I told stories through music, about my great and bizarre journey, of how I was prophecised to end the world, and of my lost love Milie. No-one believed me, of course, but they enjoyed the fanciful tales regardless. And I always played a simple four-line song that went like this:

_"As the day turned to night_  
_We set to the West Weald_  
_Just to see what we could find_  
_What myst'ries it would yield"_

And what of the World's End myth? Well, I thought it was still out there somewhere. We must have picked up a false lead somewhere along the way and ended up in Dubdilla. But there were too many signs, spanning across too much of Tamriel's history and folklore, for it to be pure fiction. Somewhere out there was a device to end the world.

Only myself and Galvel knew this for sure. We were expressly forbidden from talking about it, though. The Arch-Mage told us, as did the General of the Imperial Legion. They didn't want the people to know that they could end the world, and that a gardener had come perilously close to doing so. They wanted the myth to get buried deep in ancient mysticism again. Just as was told.

At the start of this tale, I quoted the works of one Sevri Gimothran and his book of unanswered questions. I will leave you with one more, that I wish I could have posed to Mr Gimothran had there been time.

If the world really did end, how did I tell you this story?


End file.
